Deaf To All But A Love Song
by StevenTheLost
Summary: A human eating Yōkai meets one human she doesn't want to eat. Such an ill-fated romance cannot be realized, yet it will happen. Will the Yōkai's mind break under the weight of her sins, especially now that acts similar to her own occur? You, the reader, shall look at what must be hidden. Find the truth before it's revealed, or you shall collapse under the sin of ignorance.
1. 1st Song

Deaf to all but a love song

_*The following is a Touhou Fan-fiction and is not an official story. All characters, likeness, locations and terms belong to ZUN with the exception of the main male. Please read warmly as from love blossoms a melody sung by the heart._

_Story by: StevenTheLost_

_Touhou Romance Project: 2012-?_

* * *

><p>It was a song. She didn't know when she first heard it or how long she was walking towards it. Nor did she know why she still followed it as the darkness engulfed her. All she cared about was the song: A warm melody which warped her mind and yet had a soothing effect on her body. She kept moving forward, paying no heed to her impending blindness.<p>

She could still feel.

She could still hear.

She could still breathe.

And so, she continued on.

The melody always remained clear in her mind as it echoed throughout the forest. It never got louder, it never got quieter, it just... continued. Despite this, without knowing where it was coming from, she still moved forward.

She could still think.

She could still walk.

She could still listen to the melody.

And so, she continued on.

She kept moving along the trees, feeling them with her hands as she walked deeper in the forest. The black night didn't scare her. The warm melody was more than enough light for her. It illuminated her will to move, but covered her mind in a veil of darkness. Still, her will was enough. Enough to move on aimlessly to the melodies demands.

She was cold.

Her feet hurt.

Her mind was numb.

But still, she continued on.

All of a sudden, her feet stopped moving. She tried to move them, but they wouldn't budge. Then, the melody stopped and her vision returned. She was on the ground, pinned down and unable to move. Despite her sight having returned, it was impossible to see who or what her assailant looked like. She panicked. She struggled with all of her might to break loose and run away, but she couldn't. She didn't want to die here. Not without hearing that song at least one more time.

And, as if someone heard her silent plea, the melody resumed once more. It was the assailant who was singing. It was a beautiful voice, far too beautiful to be human. She stopped struggling as the darkness once again seeped into her vision and mind. Even in the darkness, she remained calm for the melody soothed her soul, even as it left the body.

It was such a wonderful melody.

* * *

><p><em>Date: <em>_Season 127, 19__th__ of Book Month (July)_

"That makes twelve missing people this month, huh?"

Mokou was sitting down with a stern expression on her face, even before the villager known as Abel informed her of another missing villager. He always came to report the same thing over and over again. Mokou was always asked to help find them, but never once did they turn up alive.

"Yes, it would appear that way" Abel responded.

Abel was a young man who appeared to be around the age of 18 with short blond hair. Mokou first met him wandering around the Bamboo Forest of the Lost a couple years ago. After escorting him to the village, he introduced himself to be a self-proclaimed adventurer of sorts, but was actually a human from the outside world who somehow wounded up in the forest through a hole in the barrier. Afterwards, he settled down in the human village and started studying everything about Gensokyo from legends to locations.

He continued to go into the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, however, because he wanted to become friends with Mokou. He would always get lost though and Mokou would end up escorting him back to the human village without saying a word as he continued to tell obviously made-up tales of extraordinary adventures. And after he was back in the human village, he would always say, See you again! Not 'later', but 'again' as if it were a predetermined thing.

Then, one day as she was escorting him back to the human village again, she broke her one sided silence and said, "Don't go in the forest ever again. I won't help you get out anymore." To which he responded, "Then I'll be sure to pay a visit to your house then." It was after this conversation that she realized she always found him in the same exact spot in the forest, but she just waved it off as a coincidence.

If only she were that lucky.

About fifteen days later, he paid her a visit. At first, she thought it was just dumb luck and despite her earlier declaration, escorted him back to the human village. But the next day, he came again to visit her again. That was when she realized that it was no coincidence that she found him "lost" in the same spot over and over again. Abel's memory was normal except for his ability to remember layouts of different locations. He used a mental map and continued to explore the forest while always remembering the way back to the village until he found Mokou's home.

"I've never gotten lost once in my life", Abel stated to Mokou during one of his visits. He continued on to explain that even with his eyes closed he still had a general idea of where he was going. Mokou found herself asking more and more questions and before she realized it she was talking to him almost as much as she talked to Keine. Before she knew it, Abel's visits became a normal occurrence and to this day he is one of the very few people she can truly call her friend.

Abel eventually became recognized in the village because of his unique ability and started to receive requests to escort people through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost to Eientei much like Mokou did. He also started acting as a village messenger whenever the village wanted to request help from Mokou, as he was the only person aside from Keine who knew how to get to her home.

He seemed to be in that role for a much longer time than usual because of the disappearances.

"For it to be this many people, it's most likely the work of a Youkai." Mokou determined.

"Yeah, this is why the request from the village is slightly different this time." Abel said.

"They want me to help find out what's causing the disappearances?" Mokou guessed.

"Not just 'they', I'm also asking this as a friend. I personally know some of these people and I can't imagine what could've happened to them. I do know one thing though: they didn't do anything wrong. Please, Mokou." Abel requested while bowing.

"Don't bow. If it's a request from a friend I can't very well refuse, now can I?" Mokou said.

"Thank you. Although I'm pretty sure I forced my friendship on you" Abel said with a grin.

"You were indeed annoying, always pestering me until I finally accepted your company was a good thing." Mokou said with a smile.

"Is that really what happened? If only my memory was good for things other than layouts of land." Abel said.

"You just admitted that you forced your friendship on me a while ago, didn't you?"

"If only I remembered."

Mokou laughed at this exchange of dialogue. Abel also seemed to have this ability to make the atmosphere cheerful whenever he spoke, although one can attest that to his character rather than a special gift like his sense of direction.

"Anyways, I'd better be going. I've got to go tell the villagers that you'll help find out what's causing these disappearances." Abel said, getting up.

"Is that really something you need to go tell them now?" Mokou asked.

"Well, that and I need to do a bit of research. There might be something hinting as to what's causing these disappearances." Abel answered.

"Local records?" Mokou asked.

"You could say that..."

* * *

><p>"So, do you have any Ideas as to what might be causing the disappearances?" Abel asked.<p>

Akyu was drinking tea at the time Abel intruded into her house. He often went there to ask questions about Gensokyo and its various inhabitants because of her vast knowledge and experience spanning more than 1200 years due to her many reincarnations. She kept insisting that he should read the Gensokyo Chronicles rather than inquire her about everything, but Abel explained that it's much easier for him to remember things said in conversations rather than things he read.

She eventually gave up on getting him to read the Gensokyo Chronicles and found herself in lengthy conversations with Abel about Gensokyo. Despite Abel's constant visits and talking at great lengths, their relationship never got past that of an inadvertent teacher and her student.

"There are quite a few cases similar to this, all of them involving a Youkai as the main source. This is most likely the same thing." Akyu responded, still sipping her tea.

"So there's nothing else we could do but keep searching for this Youkai and exterminate it?" Abel asked.

"That would be the case. Oh, and travel as a group at night time. Also, if you hear someone singing, don't follow the source of the sound."

"That's very specific instructions..."

"It involves a very specific Youkai."

"I know. I overheard some of the villagers talking about her. Mystia was her name... right?"

Akyu sighed at the mention of the Youkai's name both confirming and showing disdain for the name.

"She's become very popular among the young villagers despite her nature of making people lost and eating them." Akyu stated.

"…Because of her singing, right?" Abel asked.

"She also sells grilled lamprey at night time." Akyu said.

"Do Youkai even need money?"

"Probably not, but they can, however, get bored."

"Do you think she has anything to do with the disappearances?"

"It's a possibility. With her popularity amongst the youth in the village, hardly any action is taken against her. She might have gotten arrogant because of this and started to increase her activity during the night."

"But she would still sell lamprey during some nights in order to avoid arousing suspicion, right?"

Akyu raised her eyebrows and asked, "Plan on paying her a visit?"

"The only way to find out if she has anything to do with this would be to keep a close eye on her. Besides, even if she isn't involved she might know something about the disappearances."

"Even if she knew something, I doubt she'd tell anyone. Despite her popularity with humans, she herself doesn't like humans."

"Well I'm still going to make sure she isn't involved." Abel said, getting up.

"Wait a minute. What exactly do you plan on doing?"

"Find Mystia"

"Specifics, please"

"I'll go alone at night and make sure to follow any mysterious melodies to their source."

"Do you enjoy ignoring me?"

"If Mystia is behind the disappearances, then I don't want to bring along anyone who would potentially be put in danger. As for her singing, it won't affect me because my sense of direction has never faltered. I won't get lost."

"You call it an ability, but can you say for sure that it's more than just memorization and a good sixth sense? If not, then I can guarantee you won't come back."

"It's more than just memorization. If I know where I want to go, then my legs will take me there, regardless of where it is, although I only just recently discovered that part of my ability."

"And how did you find this out?"

"On the day I found Mokou's house."

"It's a wonder you didn't find her house sooner than fifteen days, if that's the case."

"I never tried relying on my sense of direction to take me to a place I've never been to before, so naturally it took me a while before I thought of trying it out. The other fourteen days were just wandering around in different directions while remembering the landscape along the way. The fifteenth day was when I thought, 'I'm going to where Mokou is!' and I found myself in front of her house before I knew it."

"Quite a useful ability you have there. If you think, 'I'm going to where a hourai elixir is!', then you're set for life."

"I'll need to find a reason to keep myself alive forever before I ponder that."

"Is that all you want to know?"

"Yes, thank you. You were a great help, like always."

"You're welcome."

Just as Abel was about to leave, Akyu said one last thing before he left.

"If she is behind it, makes sure you want to find her during the day. After all, it's easier to kill a nocturnal creature that way."


	2. 2nd Song

_Night bird, night song~_

The song echoed along the night road as she pulled the cart, her voice carrying the tune along.

_Human shall turn off the light in the darkness~_

A song she knew well. A song she could sing for eternity. A song to bring darkness to those who hear it.

_Dream in the night, red in the night~_

She sang it as loudly as possible, yet with a clear tone that didn't sound strained at all. She sang in such a way that only someone who loved to sing with all her heart and soul could sing the way she sang.

_Humans will be crucified in the darkness~_

As she continued to sing, her ears picked up the sound of someone approaching her cart and her eyes could see the outline of a person off in the distance. Still, she continued to sing. She would just let the effects of her song wear off and tell them it was the grilled lamprey that fixed their vision, the same scam she always used.

As the outline got closer, she could tell it was a human male with short blond hair.

* * *

><p>"I heard these were good, but words can only describe so much. It's defiantly an experience trying them!" The human named Abel exclaimed.<p>

"Then make sure to eat lamprey instead of yakitori." Mystia replied.

"I'll make sure to do that since I hate yakitori anyways."

"Smart human"

"Do you sell anything else?"

"Sake. Also, I can sing as an extra service."

"I'll skip out on the sake, but how much does the extra service cost?"

"Nothing, I'm always happy to sing in front of a receptive audience."

"Even if they're human?"

"Why shouldn't I give my gift of singing to the world? Regardless of whether they are human or Youkai, everyone should receive the blessing that is my voice." Mystia boasted, puffing her chest up with pride.

"If it's that good, then how could I refuse, although, I did hear you singing just a little while ago."

"Is it my voice that led you here?"

"The red lantern hanging on your stand, as well as my good sense of direction is what led me here."

"So my voice is that useless? I guess I have no need to use it then."

"Sorry for lying. It was your voice that led me here. I'd love to hear it again, please."

"If you insist"

Mystia started to sing that familiar song again. She sang like always, loud, clear and with emotion. There was no greater joy in life than singing her song and she was always happy when she sang. The pain it causes others shall never stop her singing, for her happiness shall always come first.

As she finished the song she noticed that Abel still seemed to have a grip on reality despite being close to her while she sang.

"What an eerie song. I got chills down my spine as you sang it." Abel stated.

"That's because it was sung with the intent to kill." Mystia said, a little taken aback at Abel's calm demeanor.

"The scary thing is, I can't tell whether that's a joke or not."

"Are you a human? You don't seem to be affected by my singing."

"I'm a special human."

"Indeed, one who hates yakitori is rare to come by."

"But that's not a bad thing, is it?"

"No, I'd say it's a good thing... not liking yakitori."

"So it's not alright to be affected by your singing then?"

"Ah, it's such a lovely night."

"You just ignored my question, didn't you?"

"_Night Bird, Night song~_"

"You already sang that one."

"_Fry the human with spices~_"

"You just jumped into the chorus of another song, didn't you?"

"No, I just started in the middle of a verse."

"You're not foreshadowing anything are you?"

"_Until he gets cooked well and through~_"

"Those lines sound awfully forced."

"That's actually how the song goes."

"Really?"

"It's easier to sing songs you made up yourself."

"You're starting to make a customer fear for his life."

"Didn't you finish eating already?"

"I'll have one more grilled lamprey please."

"Coming right up", Mystia exclaimed in a cheerful fashion.

Mystia started singing again as she began to grill the lamprey. Abel didn't seem to mind and just listened quietly while she grilled the lamprey.

* * *

><p>"I heard about the lamprey stand run by a Youkai from the other villagers, but it doesn't seem like anyone else is coming tonight, huh?" Abel said, finishing off his second lamprey.<p>

"You sure are talkative for a human." Mystia noted.

"Really, I thought all of us humans were like this?"

"Meals tend to keep to themselves."

"But I'm not a meal... am I?"

"You're not a customer anymore, that's for sure."

"On second thought, I think I'll have some sake."

"We don't serve sake to minors."

"Say's the minor serving sake. Actually, I'm 19 years old."*

"I'll have you know I'm older than you. Also you're still too young."

"Kids sure love to dream, don't they?"

"No sake? What a shame, I guess you're not a customer after all."

"Please have mercy. I'll come again tomorrow."

"Does that mean you came here on purpose?"

"Out of curiosity, yes, I did."

"That's unusual."

"Really, I thought that it's more unusual for a night stand like this not to get very many customers?"

"People don't go out at night because it's dangerous. I doubt they would risk their lives for lamprey as good as mine are."

"I guess that makes me an unusual human then."

"There's nothing wrong with hating yakitori."

"And being unaffected by your singing?"

"Now that's just wrong."

"Stop making it sound like a bad thing. It means I can appreciate your singing much more than other humans can."

"Oh, then that's alright."

"You have a very beautiful voice. It's a shame that people can't listen to it without having a horrible travesty befall upon them."

"At least some Youkai in the forest are happy."

"Please eat lamprey, not humans."

"Actually, it's 'please eat lamprey, not yakitori.'"

"I think I should be going now."

"Then you should."

"See you tomorrow."

"I won't save you if you get attacked along the way."

"What if the assailant is you?"

"_Thank you, come again soon~_"

"You seem awfully eager for tomorrow to come."

"_Tomorrow, tomorrow~_"

"Good night." Abel said, walking away from the stand.

Mystia didn't answer, she just watched Abel disappear into the darkness. That was the longest conversation she had with any human. He was indeed a strange human, unaffected by her singing and able to talk comfortably with her. Normally the humans that come across her stand would just eat the lamprey to cure their night blindness and not bother starting long conversations with her.

She was fine with that, as she wasn't interested in becoming friendly with humans. She only started the stand so that she could do whatever she wanted without fear of being hunted down. With relationships between Youkai and humans improving and the number of Youkai exterminations having become less and less, she wanted to give the impression that she was one that shouldn't be killed. Thus the nights where she would "cure" night blindness with lamprey began. The stand wasn't popular, being one that you can only find in the middle of the night, but it left a good impression on the humans, so she continued to sell lamprey and was never bothered by them.

So, confident that no pursers would come after her, she continued eating humans from the village who wandered at night time. She would alternate between pulling her cart on some nights to looking for someone to eat on others. But the nights where she pulled her cart were becoming fewer and fewer and still no action was taken against her. It was only chance that the human named Abel picked a night where she just happened to be pulling the cart. If it were any other night, then no conversation would be taking place between them.

"He said he was coming tomorrow..."

He was going to come to her on purpose tomorrow. He would probably tell some people where he's going and they'd get suspicious if he never came back, so tomorrow would be another cart-pulling night. Even worse, if he continued to come back and forth without a scratch, then more people would come, thinking it wasn't dangerous. She would be forced to pull the cart on a regular basis to keep up the act.

"Oh well, I can tell them I'm closed on weekends at the very least", Mystia sighed.

She continued pulling the cart in silence and thought, until she realized how quiet it had gotten. Then, she continued singing to fill the void.

* * *

><p>*The age for drinking alcohol in Canada is 19. Abel is referring to this, but his nationality is still a mystery…<p> 


	3. 3rd Song

3rd Song

_Date: __Season 127, 20__th__ of Book Month (July)_

"Well, she made a joke about humans being meals, so I know she has a sense of humor at the very least", Abel stated.

Back in the Hieda household, Abel was talking once again to Akyu about Mystia.

"Right in front of a human? Has she become reckless, or does she think no one would suspect her?" Akyu questioned

"It didn't seem like a slip of the tongue or arrogance to me. I just think it was a joke. But I can't tell for sure whether or not she's related yet. You seem convinced of it though", Abel stated.

Akyu frowned and said, "She's been getting away with eating humans for a while now, so I think it would be safe to say she has something to do with this."

"That would make the most sense, but the villagers aren't going to see it that way."

"Any other Youkai and this incident would've been over by now, but pulling a cart around and causing people to get confused by singing seems to make everything alright."

"We still don't know if it's her, but I do agree that any Youkai who gets away with doing something like that for so long should be exterminated."

"Do you feel like finding her now?"

"I won't kill." Abel stated bluntly.

"Even if she killed Lara?"

"..."

Abel became silent. Lara was just like him, a human who came from the outside world and choose to settle down in the human village. She was an orphan of the same age as him who ran away from her foster parents and had no one to truly call, "family". Abel was an only child who never had a sister before. The two felt a strong connection early on and became each other's family in the world they found themselves in. Abel finally had something he wanted to protect and Lara had the family she always wanted.

There was only one thing that Abel should have realized sooner. Otherwise things would have turned out differently...

* * *

><p><em>Date: <em>_Season 127,2nd of Book Month (July)_

"Abel?"

Abel woke up at the sound of Lara's voice. She had been living apart from him until just recently when she said she wanted to live with Abel. Abel was a little surprised at this sudden turn of events, and asked her why to which she responded, "We practically see each other all day anyways, so why not?"

Abel agreed. She wasn't blood related, but she was his family and the time they spent together was precious to him. He always had fun when she was around and enjoyed her company. Not only that, but their relationship was like that of a brother and a sister, so it wouldn't be too absurd to live together. It seemed like a no-brainer at the time.

"What is it?" Abel muttered sleepily, trying to adjust his eyes to his surroundings.

"Is it weird for us to have a relationship like this when we're not blood related?" Lara asked

"What's this, out of the blue?"

"Well, isn't it?"

"Yeah... I guess it sort of is." Abel said, his eyes able to make out Lara standing in his doorway.

Lara was in her pajamas, her long brown hair a little messy probably from laying down in her bed. She was looking at Abel with an almost depressed expression, like she was unsure about something.

"It's weird, but that doesn't mean we can't have a relationship like this." Abel said.

"I know that. I know that, but..." Lara stopped mid sentence. She seemed to be struggling for words.

"Was it a bad idea to live together?"

"No, that's not the problem."

"Is it something you're uncomfortable with bringing up?"

Lara simply nodded.

"If you're having problems with something, then you can talk to me about them. I can't help you unless I know what the problem is.", Abel said.

Lara fidgeted around with her thumbs for a little while, then sighed and sat down on Abel's bed. She looked down, continuing to fidget with her thumbs. Finally, after a couple minutes silence, she said, "I think I'm in love."

Abel looked at Lara. From the way she was acting and the way she said it...

"With me?", Abel asked quietly.

Lara burst out laughing. It was so sudden that Abel nearly jumped out of his bed. While she was laughing hysterically, she was shaking her head back and forth rapidly. Maybe it was her nerves that caused such a reaction to come out of her.

"Well then, why were you so nervous about saying it to me?" Abel asked.

Lara, catching her breath, said, "Is it easy to tell anyone that you're in love?"

"Well, no I guess not."

"Then there you have it."

"Okay, so you're in love. Why are you telling me this?"

Lara, fully calmed down, responded, "I don't know how to approach him, and he doesn't even view me the same way that I view him."

"You mean he isn't aware of you as a woman?"

"I guess that would be the way of putting it. But I don't know how to make him pay attention to me."

"Am I really the person you should be telling about this? I mean what makes you think I'd know anything about how to get him to pay attention to you?"

"Because it's you"

"I'm sorry for thinking highly of myself. Can you answer me seriously?"

"Does that mean you think highly of me?"

"We're getting off-topic here."

"Well, jokes aside, you're a guy. Haven't you fallen for someone before?"

"I have, but women are much more mysterious then men. I never had a relationship with a girl that surpasses close friends. You don't really need counselling on how to make a guy happy though."

"And how do you make men happy?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, we mainly act out our instincts when it comes to relationships. If you're willing-"

"You suck as a brother, much less a fake one."

"I didn't even finish."

"You didn't need too."

"Give him a gift."

"I've given him plenty."

"This must be the most oblivious guy in existence."

"You have **no** idea."

"I suddenly view you as a woman."

"Stop that already. I don't want you to joke about that..." Lara said, sighing.

"Sorry." Abel said, holding his head down in shame.

"As long as you don't joke about that again, then it's fine, I'll talk to you later. Goodnight Abel." Lara said, getting up and out the door.

"Goodnight Lara." Abel said as she exited through the door.

* * *

><p><em>Date: <em>_Season 127,3rd of Book Month (July)_

Lara got up from the table she was sitting at, her written note on the table. She was too scared to tell Abel what she was feeling, so she wrote it down. She was too scared to face Abel when he got up, so she left. She left their home and walked as far as her legs would take her, ending up on the night road. The sky was very dimly lit, preparing to transition into the next day. She probably could've stayed at their home for a little while longer before leaving it, but she would be tempted to sleep there and end up having to face Abel sooner than she wanted.

So she continued walking, to clear her mind and set herself straight, all the while hoping the next time he talked to her, he wouldn't be joking.

And it was at that time she heard a song...

* * *

><p>"I'm such an idiot, aren't I?"<p>

Abel should've seen it coming. It was painfully obvious and yet he still couldn't see it. He only saw what he wanted to see and never what was right in front of his own eyes.

In Lara, he saw the sister he never had.

Lara saw something different when she looked at Abel though.

It was obvious, even when she was laughing hysterically. It was too unnatural, the way she laughed. Anyone could tell that she was in pain from holding back the words she wanted to say. So she wrote them clearly on paper, "I love you."

But when the time comes, Abel knew he couldn't say those words back. Lara was probably afraid of that happening and went out to prepare herself for failure. Which was why the words, "I'll be back soon", were also written on that paper.

What would have happened if Abel didn't view her as something like a sister? Would they be together right now? Probably, but now he can only view her as his sister. Not by blood, but by bond. He knew that their relationship would never be the same after this day, though. No one can become, "Just friends" after something like this.

"As if I'll just wait for her here so she can pretend she's fine like this." Abel said, getting up and leaving the house.

No matter where she was, he could still find her. His unnatural sense of direction told him so. He would walk to where she was and then scold her for being an idiot... and apologizing for being one himself. Even if it hurts, even if it was impossible, he still wanted to be friends with her. He truly believed he would find some answer to this problem.

All of a sudden, his legs stopped moving. No matter how much he willed them to move towards where Lara was they wouldn't budge. He had no direction to go in, and before he knew it, his tears came inexplicably and uncontrollably. He had no idea why he was crying, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't move. There was nothing to move towards.

This was the moment when Lara died.

* * *

><p><em>Date: <em>_Season 127, 20__th__ of Book Month (July)_

"You could always have someone else kill her if you're unwilling to do it." Akyu suggested.

Abel remained quiet for a couple more seconds, and then said, "Give me more time."

"Why do you need more time? She still needs-"

"If she did kill Lara, then I'll be the one to kill her.", Abel stated, ignoring Akyu and walking out the door.


	4. 4th Song

4th Song

_Night bird, night song~ _

The song echoed along the night road as she pulled the cart, her voice carrying the tune along.

_Human shall turn off the light in the darkness~_

A song she knew well. A song she could sing for eternity. A song to bring darkness to those who hear it.

_Dream in the night, red in the night~_

She sang it as loudly as possible, yet with a clear tone that didn't sound strained at all. She sang in such a way that only someone who loved to sing with all her heart and soul could sing the way she sang.

_Humans will be crucified in the darkness~_

As she continued to sing, a familiar figure approached in the distance. Still unwavering in his movement and clearly knowing where he was going, Abel walked towards the stand without any uncertainty on his face.

Despite it having no effect on him, she continued to sing until the song was done. Abel simply waited and watched until she finished.

"Still singing those eerie songs, I see." Abel stated.

"A smart human would've never come again if they really felt threatened, rather than keep their promise." Mystia pointed out.

"I don't feel threatened. Rather, I feel a certain calm when hearing you sing."

"I've successfully lulled you into a false sense of security, have I?"

"One grilled lamprey with singing on the side please."

"Coming right up", Mystia exclaimed energetically.

And so, she once again sang while grilling the lamprey. Likewise, Abel did the same thing he always did when she sang, which was remaining quiet. She finished grilling the lamprey at around the same time she finished the song and handed it to Abel.

"Here you go." Mystia said.

"Thanks for the meal." Abel said, taking a bite out of the lamprey.

"I should tell you in advance that I'm not selling any lamprey tomorrow or the day after that."

"You have something to do those days?" Abel asked, finishing his first bite.

"Yeah, like fish for more lamprey or clean my house." Mystia replied.

"That's a surprisingly normal response."

"Oh yeah, and I plan on eating some humans. Want to join me?"

"I _**am**_ human."

"Want to be eaten by me?"

"Is that something you should be making a joke about in front of me?"

"You seem to find the humor in it, so I don't see why not."

"I guess I really am a weird human then, huh?" Abel asked, taking another bite of his lamprey.

"There's nothing wrong with hating-"

"Different punch line, please." Abel interrupted.

"You must be a shrine maiden!" Mystia exclaimed.

"What kind of punch line is that?"

"Or a witch, take your pick."

"I'm not even a girl!"

"Then you'll get eaten in no time."

"I'm wearing the red jacket!?"

"Pardon?"

"Oh. Sorry, inside joke."

"Anyways, I'll be busy so no lamprey will be sold on the next two nights."

"Well that's a shame."

"Do you still intend on coming to eat lamprey?"

"I like to hear you sing too."

"Who wouldn't?"

"People who value their sanity wouldn't."

"Are you already hearing voices in your head?"

"Only one voice, actually."

"You should have one of those human doctors take a look at you."

"Don't want to."

"And those were the last words he spoke to me."

"Don't make it sound like I'm a tragedy."

"What are you then?"

"I'm a romantic comedy."

"Delusion is quite a tragic plot twist."

"I don't want to see a doctor, because the one voice in my head is singing."

"That... actually wasn't half bad."

"And so she fell in love with my charm and good looks."

"Don't involve me with your delusion, please."

"Do Youkai ever fall in love with humans?"

"I love their taste and the sounds they make as they take their last breath."

"You're a horror. No doubt about it."

"If I were anything, I would be a religion."

"A blasphemous horror, at that."

"People would worship my voice and fear my powers."

"Follower count of the religion of Mystia: one human, but he got eaten alive."

"I need more tributes to appease my hunger!"

"God forgives you, because you make him laugh."

"Which god?"

"One from the outside world."

"Not important."

"I take offense to that."

"Tell someone who cares."

"I could send some people who hate yakitori into the forest if you want."

"I'm sorry if I offended you."

"That didn't sound sincere."

"You didn't really intend on doing that for me anyways."

"You make it sound as though you'd be happy if something like that happened."

"I'm a bird and so is a yakitori. That would only be just desserts."

"But you eat humans regardless, right?"

Mystia paused before she answered, "No, I've stopped doing that."

"You've 'stopped'?" Abel inquired.

"Yes, I've stopped eating humans. I've grown rather fond of them", Mystia lied.

"That's not the problem here..."

"There shouldn't be a problem at all, actually."

"Don't you regret eating anyone at all?" Abel asked bluntly.

Mystia paused again and then sternly said, "Now you're the one who's offended me. I'm closed now, please leave."

Abel seemed to realize what he just done, and said, "I'm sorry."

"If sorry was enough, then I'm guessing the lives I took would forgive me." Mystia said in a depressed tone.

Abel didn't say anything to that, and left the stand quietly.

Mystia sighed a breath of relief. With how natural the conversation flowed between Abel and herself, she had a harder time coming up with lies and excuses to hide her true nature. If she wasn't paying attention, she might have let a few things slip out of her mouth. When he decides to come back, which he probably would, she knew that she would have to keep her guard up when talking to him.

"No, wait, I can just tell him to go away and leave me alone if he ever pops up. Eventually, he should give up and never come here again." Mystia said to herself.

Abel believed that he had done something wrong, so if she kept making him feel guilty about it, he would eventually leave her alone. There would be no more intentional visits from him and she could get away with pulling the cart on less nights.

"Humans really aren't all that bright, are they?" Mystia asked no one.

Once again, she realized how quiet it had gotten after Abel left. Normally, she would be singing whenever it got quiet, but she seemed to be thinking a lot more than singing lately. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to deal with problems like these in the future.

She started singing again.


	5. 5th Song

_Date: __Season 127, 21__st__ of Book Month (July)_

Abel didn't want to get out of bed. He said something stupid out of anger. He needed to know if it was her, if Mystia was the one who killed Lara, and never stopped to think about what if it _wasn't_ her. He kept trying to go about it in a roundabout way so that she wasn't suspicious, but never stopped to consider that she might not be the killer that Abel so desperately wanted her to be.

And so, here he was, pulling the sheets over his head to run away from the sunlight peeking through his window and his guilt. He knew he had to apologize to Mystia for what he had said, but he didn't know how to. He barely knew her. This made him feel even worse as he still decided to judge her based on Akyu's opinion. He still valued her opinion, but no longer on people or Youkai. He should only judge character when he got to know them better. He should've at least known that, but still...

"Abel, are you there?" called out a familiar voice.

Abel pulled his head out from under his sheets. It was Mokou's voice that called out, which was strange as she very rarely paid visits to him as he already paid more than enough visits to her. Abel lazily got out of bed and called out; "Wait just a minute" as he looked for a change of clothes.

He quickly got dressed and made his way to the front door to open it for Mokou.

"You... look like hell." Mokou noted.

"Nice to see you too, Is there anything you need me for?" Abel asked.

"Well, I just thought I'd come by and pay you a visit while I'm informing you of my progress regarding the disappearances."

"You can't have made any progress on that, because no other people have gone missing since I've talked to you last."

"That doesn't mean that I haven't found out anything."

"Really, you've found out something?" Abel asked, getting excited.

"Nope", Mokou said with a grin on her face.

"Thank you, come again soon..." Abel said in a depressed tone, slowly shutting the front door.

"Wait, I'm sorry. Please let me in for tea." Mokou begged.

"You should've just said you came for a visit. I was really disappointed you know." Abel said, opening the front door and letting Mokou through.

"I'm sorry", Mokou apologized again.

"Now apologize for your existence."

"I'm sorry for this." Mokou said, slamming her fist straight into Abel's gut.

"I was only joking you know." Abel groaned, grabbing his stomach while he knelt on the floor.

"Pardon the intrusion." Mokou declared as she made a beeline for Abel's living room.

Abel sighed, got up off the floor and followed her to the living room.

"I'm all out of tea." Abel said as they sat down.

"That's fine; I've only come for the company and conversation anyways." Mokou stated.

"Does it get lonely out in the forest?"

"Not really. You and Keine visit me often so it never gets lonely and I don't mind the times when I'm alone because it's always peaceful."

"So then why the sudden visit?"

"I don't need a reason, do I? I just wanted to."

"I see."

Abel sat silently after that, pondering his predicament and whether or not he should bring it up to Mokou. Before the silence got long enough to become awkward, he made his decision.

"Mokou, do you happen to know a Youkai who goes by the name of Mystia?" Abel asked.

Mokou narrowed her eyes and answered, "Yes, I know her."

"You don't seem very happy that I mentioned her name."

"I'm not. What about her?"

"Well, say I said something very horrible to her that made her upset. What should I do?"

"Proceed to hit her with danmaku."

"What would I do to make it up to her?"

"Do you even know who Mystia is?"

"Yes, I do."

"Why are you talking to her then, or rather, trying to make it up to her?"

"I've been talking with her, trying to find out if she's involved in the recent disappearances. Of course, I haven't asked her directly. I've just been talking normally with her to see if she would let something slip up. But, in my own opinion, she has nothing to do with what's going on at the moment. I said something awful to her the last time we spoke and I want to apologize to her. I just don't know how."

It was then Mokou's turn to sit in silence, pondering what to say. She didn't seem to be thinking of a solution to Abel's problem, but rather about how to get him to stay away from Mystia.

"You aren't going to try and be friends with her, are you?" Mokou finally asked.

"That's what I intend on doing." Abel answered.

"Why?"

"She doesn't seem to be a bad Youkai and I enjoyed the conversations I had with her, although I had ulterior motives, which makes me feel guilty."

"Do you even know how many humans she's eaten? What makes you think you're not going to end up being eaten?"

"Because I believe she's changed. I think she finds the value in human lives and is suffering because people judge her based on her past actions, especially herself."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because the thing that I said which made her upset was, 'don't you regret eating anyone at all?'"

"..."

"I know that what she did in the past was wrong, but she didn't see it that way and now that she does, I think she truly regrets it. I don't think we should condemn her anymore."

"But with all the lives she's taken, can you really forgive her because she was, 'sorry'?"

"...It was in her nature as a Youkai to eat people. I can't condemn her for that, so I'd rather forgive her. It might be selfish of me, but even with what she's done, I just want to forgive her and be friends."

Mokou sighed and said, "You really are an idiot, trying to be all friendly with everyone, even Youkai."

"I've never been in danger from making friends before, so I don't see how that makes me an idiot."

"Weren't you constantly going into the Bamboo Forest of the Lost trying to become friends with me?"

"And look how that turned out, anyways, are you going to help me apologize?"

"Since when was this conversation about me helping you apologize?"

"Well, if you're worried about me going to see her, then you could come along. Plus, I still have no idea how to make it up to her."

"I don't have any idea either, but since you seem intent on going on matter what, I guess it wouldn't hurt to come along."

"Thank you, Mokou." Abel said, bowing deeply.

"Stop doing that already, it seems unnatural when you do it."

"Anyways, do you have an opinion on what I should do to make it up to her?"

"You're the one who's been talking to her; you should know more about her than I do. Is there anything that she would appreciate?"

Abel sat, thinking deeply. Then, he seemed to come up with an idea.

"Does the human village sell any instruments?" Abel asked.

"There is one store you can get them from, but they're expensive." Mokou replied.

"Money isn't a problem for me. The villagers leave money anonymously as thanks for my services, so I can't give it back to them."

"People sure have become crafty when forcing their gratitude on others." Mokou noted.

"Alright, and one last thing, do you know where I can fish for lamprey?"


	6. 6th Song

"Hmm~"

Mystia stretched in her bed while letting a lazy yawn escape her mouth. Looking out the window, she could see that there was barely any light out in the forest. It was time for her to get up. She sat up in a sitting position and laid on her bed stand while rubbing her eyes. She looked at her wings, which were crumpled up from her constant turning in bed and proceeded to stretch them out, giving them proper form.

She then proceeded to sing in a drunk-like voice, probably brought on by her tiredness. She yawned in-between some verses, but she still continued. Once she was done, she felt wide awake and got out of bed. This was her usual routine in waking up. Singing gave her energy to face the rest of the day, but she was still hungry. She quickly got changed out of her Pajama's, and into her casual dress. It was time for her to go and find her next meal.

* * *

><p>"What...the hell...?" Mystia asked in a confused tone.<p>

She was completely baffled by the scene that was right in front of her. The lantern on her cart was lit and was out in the open. Not only that, but someone was grilling lamprey while talking to a customer. The person who was manning her stand was...

"Want some lamprey?" Abel called out to Mystia, holding out a stick of grilled lamprey.

"What are you doing!? Are you mocking me!?" Mystia yelled, stomping her way to the stand.

"He's apologizing to you. Take the lamprey." said the customer.

Mystia turned to face the unfamiliar face. She had long white hair, and eyes that seemed to be on fire. Her voice was urging her, but her eyes were threatening her. Whoever it was, she wasn't going to settle for a, 'no', so Mystia reluctantly took the lamprey Abel was holding out for her.

"You don't mind fish for breakfast right?" Abel asked Mystia.

"I don't have breakfast; I just eat when I'm hungry." Mystia grumbled.

"And are you hungry now?"

"No." Mystia lied quickly.

Then, her stomach growled at the worst time.

"Your stomach is more honest than you are." Abel said.

"Traitor", Mystia said to her stomach.

"Don't worry; I cooked it all the way through."

"I can eat raw fish if I wanted."

"Then you have no reason not to eat it, right?" The strange customer asked.

Mystia knew that whoever the customer was, it was clear that she was an acquaintance of Abel's. Mystia also knew that if she didn't go along with this, the customer wouldn't just let her get away. Abel didn't seem to be threatening her, so she could assume that the customer was acting on her own accord. Faced with no other choice due to the silent threats, Mystia took a bite of the lamprey.

"...It isn't horrible." Mystia said.

"Was I supposed to add spices?" Abel asked.

"No, just grilling it was enough. You didn't grill it the right way, though."

"There's a right way?"

"Did you taste any of the ones you grilled yet?"

"No, I haven't.

"Try one."

Abel took one of the grilled lampreys and took a bite.

"...It isn't horrible." Abel agreed.

"Do you taste the difference between yours and mine? The reason mine tastes better is because I grilled it the right way." Mystia stated.

"I thought the right way was cooking it all the way through."

"But there's also the way you position it, the timing when switching sides, the pressure you apply to the-"

"I get it. Yours are better because you're more talented at this."

"Exactly, now that you know, I should get going-"

"So soon? You haven't even heard the extra service!" The customer said in fake enthusiasm.

"...Please tell me you aren't going to sing." Mystia pleaded to Abel.

"No, but I am good at playing the flute." Abel answered.

Mystia just gave Abel a blank look. He was a complete idiot, plain and simple.

"You seem disappointed." Abel noted.

"I _**am**_ disappointed." Mystia confirmed.

"You haven't even heard me play yet."

"How is this supposed to be apologizing for what you said yesterday!? All you're doing is copying me, very badly, I might add!" Mystia yelled.

"Weren't you the one who said that, 'if sorry was enough, then I'm guessing the lives I took would forgive me'?" Abel asked.

"...What does that have to do with anything?"

"You don't think that you should be forgiven, but I want to forgive you because I know you regret it, just like how I want you to forgive me because I truly regret what I said yesterday. I can't do anything specific to make up for it, so all I can do is show that I'm truly sorry."

"And how is this showing you're sorry?"

"You're talking to me right now, aren't you? You wouldn't have listened to what I've said any other way, would you?"

Mystia was surprised. He was right about that. She was planning on ignoring him whenever he tried talking to her, but before she knew it, she ended up talking with him because of this.

"You just did this so you could grab my attention?" Mystia asked.

"And I'm telling you right now that I truly regret what happened yesterday. Can you please forgive me?" Abel asked.

Mystia was speechless. She didn't know what to do. If she didn't forgive him in this situation, it would seem odd and if she did forgive him, he would end up coming more and the people... Wouldn't think she was dangerous. But that was what Mystia wanted all along. As long as people didn't think she was dangerous, they wouldn't suspect her. Even if business picked up, she could still be closed for the weekends and eat humans then. It wouldn't be as much times as before, but she'd be safe. Why didn't she think of this sooner? Maybe because she would have to be friendly to the humans, which didn't appeal to her, but it seemed like a small price to pay for her safety.

"Alright, you win Abel. I forgive you." Mystia said with a smile.

"This isn't about winning, you know. I just want to be friends." Abel pointed out.

"...Friends? That's asking for a lot." Mystia said.

"This looks like a job for the flute of friendship..." Abel said, taking out a flute.

"I'll agree to be your friend if you put that thing away." Mystia said.

"But you haven't even heard me play yet."

"No instrument is as powerful and wonderful as my voice. I don't need to hear it."

"I will agree that you have a wonderful singing voice."

"Go on, praise me more!"

"If only other people's ears didn't bleed on impact, I'm sure they'd agree also."

"Do you have a death wish?"

"When I die, I hope that I can go to heaven."

"That's not what I meant by 'death wish'"

"Are you going to finish that lamprey? I know it isn't as good as yours, but I tried my best and you're hungry, right?"

"Ah, that's right." Mystia said, realizing she was still holding the lamprey on a stick. She took another bite of it. She could live with eating lamprey for now.

* * *

><p>"We caught a lot of lamprey during the day for you. Is this enough?" Abel said, showing her the containers filled with lamprey.<p>

"More than enough, I don't get that many customers remember?" Mystia asked.

"So then all that's left for you to do is the cleaning? Your house doesn't look that big, so it shouldn't take that long."

"Ah yes, that reminds me, how did you find me?" Mystia inquired.

"I have a very good sense of direction. I can find anything in the world just by following it."

"Is that why you're unaffected by my singing, because you always know where everything is?"

"Probably, anyways, what do you do during your free time on the weekends? None of this stuff appears to take very long."

"I sing, of course."

"The entire night? That's quite a stretch." The other girl said.

"Oh, are you still here?" Mystia asked her.

"Is there any particular reason I should leave?" The girl asked.

"This is my friend, Mokou. She helped me fish that entire amount of lamprey." Abel said.

"...Mokou, did you say?" Mystia asked.

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Mokou asked.

Mystia had heard about her before. She was some sort of immortal on good terms with the human villagers. She also heard something about her being a phoenix too, but she appeared to be normal aside from what she was wearing. The one thing that bothered her the most, however, was that she ran a yakitori stand.

"Nothing wrong, I just thought you would be on fire or have two heads or something like that." Mystia said.

"I hear that night sparrow tastes good fried. Want to try some Abel?" Mokou asked Abel.

"Please just get along with her." Abel begged Mokou.

"Jokes aside, are you really a phoenix?" Mystia asked Mokou.

"No, I just have powers similar to that of one." Mokou answered.

"I was about to say that fellow birds shouldn't eat one another, but it seems like there will be no point." Mystia said.

"Maybe bringing you along wasn't such a good idea after all..." Abel said to Mokou.

"Because I run a yakitori stand", Mokou asked.

"That would be why." Abel confirmed.

"You have a very interesting way of apologizing, Abel, bringing the enemy of all bird kind with you to see me." Mystia noted.

"Don't get me wrong, I love birds and the way they taste." Mokou said.

"I can eat her, right Abel? She won't die anyways so I can enjoy a feast of immortal guts." Mystia noted.

"Both of you should eat more lamprey." Abel stated.

"I eat enough lamprey." Mystia said.

"Yakitori is good enough for me." Mokou stated.

"Hey Abel, she's a normal human aside from never dying and having power over fire, right?" Mystia asked.

"Umm, yes, I guess aside from that, she is normal." Abel answered.

"_Night bird, night song~_"

"Don't start singing!" Abel exclaimed.

"But I don't have anything else to do." Mystia stated.

"Could it be that you really only sing during your free time?" Mokou asked.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Mystia asked.

"That's dangerous! Do you know how many humans have gotten lost because they've heard you sing?" Mokou asked.

"That's why I sing at night time in the middle of the forest. Humans aren't stupid enough to go off the path into the forest at night, right? ...Oh wait, there's one such idiot right here." Mystia said, smirking.

"Urge to kill: rising!" Mokou stated while gritting her teeth.

"Once you're done cleaning your house, you'll have nothing to do for the rest of the night?" Abel asked, trying to change topics.

"Nothing to do but sing and fly", Mystia said.

"Can we come inside and call it a visit?" Abel asked.

"What else would you call it other than a visit?" Mystia responded.

"A break-in.", Mokou suggested.

"What do you plan on doing that requires breaking-in?" Mystia asked.

"No, no, it's just a normal visit." Abel said.

"Not today. You're probably going to visit my cart when it's open anyways." Mystia stated.

"Ah, that's right. Is it open on weekdays?" Abel asked.

"Please don't visit me every single night. You've already ruined enough of my peace and quiet." Mystia said.

"It doesn't count as quiet if you sing anyways." Abel pointed out.

"Let me sing in peace."

"That's better."

"Can I ask you to leave now? I like being alone."

"That's depressing."

"Not if she likes it. C'mon Abel, let's go." Mokou said.

"Alright, but we're friends now, so don't be shy if you want any company, Mystia." Abel stated.

"I don't ever recall agreeing to be your friend, but I'll keep that in mind." Mystia said.

"I put away the flute, didn't I? See you later!" Abel exclaimed, leaving with Mokou following close behind.

Mystia simply waved goodbye. Her night had only just begun and she wasn't going to let it go to waste. As soon as Abel and Mokou moved out of sight, she started to move in the other direction towards another part of the forest. She would've entered the forest, but she remembered that her cart was still out as well as the lamprey that Abel gave her.

When she got to the cart, she noticed that her grill was dirty and there was quite a few grilled lampreys left over from Abel's cooking.

"You think he would clean up after himself at the very least, or maybe bring the cooked lamprey with him." Mystia complained to no one.

And with that, she started cleaning the grill and eating the lamprey, which weren't terrible. She then realized that she could've easily put the lamprey in storage or thrown them away rather than eating them, but it was too late for that. Now, she was full and had no room left to eat a human much less an entire one.

"This is the 2nd night he's prevented me from eating his own kind... albeit unintentional." Mystia noted.

Ever since Abel came, she hasn't had any opportunities to eat any humans. Granted, she ruined her own opportunity tonight, but it wouldn't have happened if Abel didn't come. He was a very weird human, unable to be affected by her singing or even be bothered by it and even goes out of his way to become friends with her, a Youkai. Everything about him was bothering her, as he keeps on getting in the way of her recent eating habits.

"...I don't have to worry about him tomorrow, right?" Mystia asked herself.


	7. 7th Song

_Date: __Season 127, 22__nd__ of Book Month (July)_

"So, what I'm saying is that she isn't behind the disappearances, and I want to know if something else could possibly be behind them." Abel said to Akyu.

Akyu seemed upset while Abel was talking about his opinion on Mystia, but didn't say anything until he was finished talking. She still didn't seem convinced, even as Abel was finished, so he prepared to be met with an argument.

"There are some _things_ you can't become friends with. Take this cup of tea, for example." Akyu said, sipping some more of her tea.

"She isn't a _thing_; she still has emotions just like any one of us!" Abel exclaimed.

"Like fear, anger, desire and hunger. Also, please don't yell."

"Hunger doesn't count as an emotion..." Abel grumbled.

"You always want to find the good in people and Youkai alike that you ignore all the bad."

"Didn't I tell you about what I said to make her upset? I'm pretty sure I was more than willing to look at the bad that wasn't even there in the first place."

"And you just as quickly found the good in her after she acted hurt." Akyu noted.

"...I respect you, I really do, but I'm about to say something very rude to you right now-"

"Then don't say it at all."

"..."

"You need to understand that Youkai are good liars and you may very well be tricked into thinking that she's something she's not."

"I know that." Abel said, sighing.

"Then why are you acting this way? It normally isn't like you to lose your temper." Akyu pointed out.

"I didn't lose my temper. I _almost_ lost my temper with you." Abel corrected.

"Don't start playing those games with me, and answer me normally."

"I just don't think it's right to base an opinion on Mystia as she is today due to her past sins. I honestly think she's changed."

"And I honestly doubt that. Mystia hates humans, so what would make her change her mind about them?"

"Aren't the numbers of human friendly Youkai increasing? I'm pretty sure most of them hated humans at some point in time."

"You've been making little to no good points whatsoever, so why start now?"

"Hey look, a sense of humor. I was wondering where you hid that."

"Yes, I suppose you might have a point, but there will always be those who discriminate against humans the same way that there will always be those who discriminate against Youkai. Mystia might still not look past us as anything but food."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll be sure to keep visiting her to make sure she has nothing to do with this. And even if she does have some hostility left towards humans, she wouldn't bother killing me because she'd have Mokou to deal with. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"...I see no problem with it."

"There. Now that that's settled, I have to see if a curfew has been set in place yet." Abel said, getting up.

"Will they still let you go outside the village past the curfew?"

"I'm one of the people who are trying to find out what's causing this in the first place, so I get a few perks."

"I see. Make sure to come back alive, as there are many people who would be sad if you died..."

"...Goodbye, Akyu." Abel said, walking towards the door.

"Goodbye, Abel."

* * *

><p>Abel collapsed into his bed. He didn't get much sleep over the past few days from going out at night so he decided to take an uncharacteristic afternoon nap. He planned on visiting her again tonight even though it wasn't a lamprey selling night. Despite wanting to believe in Mystia, he still wanted to prove that she isn't a threat to humans.<p>

At least, that's the excuse he came up with.

Before he even knew why, he already decided on visiting Mystia that night again. He wasn't sure why he decided it, he just did. He knew it would look odd if he visited her every single night, but he still wanted to go anyways. Shortly after, he came up with a justification for going tonight. There were a couple of things he did today that wasn't like him: He got angry at Akyu, decided on something for no reason and, most shocking of all, was taking an afternoon nap. Well, aside from the afternoon nap, he had no idea why he was acting this way. There was only one common factor he could see though: Mystia.

"She seems to be causing me a lot of trouble whether she knows it or not..."

He stood up for her because Mystia was someone Abel wanted to believe and he wanted to visit her for no reason in particular. Why? He barely knew her, so why did he do such things? Is it right to trust someone you just met despite what others have said about her? All of these thoughts swirled around in Abel's mind as he nodded off, too tired to think any longer.

* * *

><p><em>Date: <em>_Season 127, 23__rd__ of Book Month (July)_

"S-t-r-e-t-c-h!" Abel yawned as he stretched his arms out.

He felt refreshed and well rested. He quickly got out of bed and stared out the window... which splattered a bright yellow light in his face.

"How long was I asleep for?"

There were already people out and about on the village pathways, going about their business. Abel had slept the entire afternoon and night away. He sighed and changed into a new set of clothes, tossing the old ones onto his bed. He would clean up around the house later, as he had other things to do at the moment. He quickly put on his sandals and exited his house.

Abel went to see the people who were in charge of watching the exits to the village. They were just recently assigned to make sure that no villagers left the village after the new curfew time. The curfew would probably stay in effect until the cause of the disappearances had been found and taken care of. The guards said that they had some complaints from a few people, but they all gave up once the situation was explained properly.

No one exited the village and no one has been reported missing. The curfew seemed to be working so far, but people would probably get impatient if it lasted for too long. Abel needed to find the cause as soon as possible... in-between visiting Mystia, of course. She actually would have a better chance of finding out anything involving these disappearances than anyone involved in the village so it would be a good idea to ask her for help.

That is if she wasn't the cause herself...

Abel quickly shook these thoughts out of his head. He was confident that she wasn't involved... he didn't know why, but he believed in her. That was enough. Besides, it wasn't as if he was getting anywhere with the investigation, so it couldn't hurt to ask her for help.

He kept making excuses to see Mystia in his head for a while after that.


	8. Silence

"_Human meat, Human meat~_", Mystia sang longingly.

Not a single human wandered towards her song yesterday night so she settled on eating lamprey for the 3rd night in a row. And now that it was her designated cart-pulling night, she was going to eat it for the 4th night in a row, or rather, for the rest of the week if Abel visited her cart on all "available" nights.

Mystia stopped singing and sighed. She could feel the energy getting sucked out of her with each step she took. She could probably put her cart back in storage after Abel visited and just spend the rest of the night looking for humans to eat, but that would've required her to think of the idea.*

Sure enough, as she was wallowing in her predicament, she saw Abel's figure approaching in the distance.

* * *

><p>"You alright, you seem to be feeling down?" Abel noted.<p>

"I'm fine." Mystia grumbled.

"You weren't even singing while I was approaching the cart. Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Abel asked, showing genuine concern.

"I'm just thinking about my future."

"That's a very interesting topic for a Youkai to be thinking about."

"I have a right to think about what I want to think about."

"I never said anything saying otherwise..."

"Do you really plan on coming here every single night?"

"That's actually something I want to talk to you about."

Mystia raised her eyebrows, suddenly interested in her conversation with Abel.

"I'm actually going to be coming out to the forest every night on some business." Abel said.

"What business?" Mystia asked.

"Villagers have started to go missing whenever they leave at night... More so than usual, I mean, and I'm one of the people in charge of finding out why."

Mystia knew the reason why, but she gave no indication that she knew and asked Abel, "So you're going to be searching for the reason why?"

"That would be the case, which brings me to this: Can you please help us?"

Mystia blinked a couple times, then asked in a clear voice, "What?"

"Please help us Mystia. I know that some people still have a hard time trusting you in the village so now's your chance to show everyone that you can be trusted."

"...You always say the most interesting things, Abel." Mystia said, still in disbelief.

"You live in the forest, so having someone like you helping would get this solved quicker as well as improve your relationship with the village."

"You're serious?"

"I'm serious. I really truly am serious. But more than anything, I want people to trust you because..." Abel paused, as though unsure of what to say next.

"...Because?" Mystia said, unsure of what to think about this.

"...Because I trust you. You're someone I trust and I just want people to see things from my point of view..." Abel stated, staring directly into Mystia's eyes.

Mystia's mind was fogging up. She was completely and utterly lost on what to say to Abel. She felt something strange inside of her, but she couldn't describe what the feeling was, or why she was feeling it. She never felt this way from talking with Abel before, so why did she feel it now?

After a long silence, Mystia spoke in a quiet voice that was slightly above a whisper.

"Why do you trust me?" Mystia asked.

"I have absolutely no reason why I trust you... I just do." Abel replied.

"That isn't a very good answer..." Mystia said, but she somehow believed Abel.

"It isn't, is it?"

"It really isn't. Are you sure you're not just an idiot?"

"I'm not an idiot, I just have don't have a reason why. Is there a problem with that?"

"Yes, because I feel unhappy that you don't have a reason why."

"Why do you feel unhappy?"

Mystia blinked. Why did she feel unhappy? She herself wasn't sure why, she just was...

"I don't have a reason why." Mystia responded.

"Isn't that hypocritical?" Abel asked.

"Anyways, I'll help you out, Abel." Mystia said, changing the topic.

"You will?"

"I just said I would, didn't I?"

"Thank you, Mystia."

"Feel honored."

"Where's the 'I' in that sentence?"

"Shut up and eat your lamprey." Mystia said, handing him a partly burnt one.

"Since when do you serve charcoal lamprey?" Abel said, taking the stick.

"I wasn't paying attention. It's your fault, of course."

"But you were responsible for it, weren't you?"

"What's that, you want your lamprey cooked like that in the future?"

"It was all my fault, I'm sorry."

"That's better. Now eat before it becomes _cold_ charcoal lamprey."

"Thanks for the meal." Abel said, taking a bite of the lamprey.

Mystia watched Abel as he ate the lamprey. He was the first human to trust her and even try to become friends with her. She had no intention of being his friend, as she was only using him... but it felt pleasant when he used silly words like 'trust' and 'friends'. Maybe she was starting to care about humans?

Probably not, her stomach concluded with a loud growl.

Abel finished the lamprey and said, "Your stomach is talking again."

"I'm well aware of that", Mystia said, grabbing one of the grilled lampreys she had made and taking a big bite out of it.

"Whoa there, make sure you chew." Abel said.

Mystia swallowed her bite and said, "I can eat this fish whole if I wanted to."

"Then why don't you do that?"

"It's too much of a pain to get it off the stick. I could eat the lampreys that aren't on sticks if I wanted to, but the grilled ones taste better."

"...You know you can grill them without the sticks, right?"

"Of course I know that! I'm not an idiot."

"I wasn't saying you are, but why don't you grill them without the sticks then?"

"..."

"...You really never thought of that, did you?"

"Please do me a favor and never bring this up again. In exchange, I will let you live."

"That seems like a fair deal."

Mystia took large bites of the lamprey until none remained and swallowed it without chewing. She then proceeded to put a raw lamprey onto the grill.

"You just want me to search for the missing villagers, right?" Mystia asked.

"Yeah... I figured it would be a good idea because you probably know more about what's going on in the forest than anyone else right now." Abel said.

"Doesn't that Phoenix live in the forest too?"

"She lives in the bamboo forest, but most of the people who disappeared went off in this direction."

"How do you know that?"

"I was able to use my internal compass to pick up a couple of the villagers directions... right before they went missing."

"Oh yeah, you mentioned having an ability like that. So why haven't you found them yet?" Mystia already knew the answer to the question, but asked it anyways.

Abel went silent and just stared at the ground. Mystia flinched at the sudden guilt that hit her. She never felt anything towards 'food', yet she was sympathising with Abel for some reason.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that." Mystia said, looking at the ground also.

"It's fine. You just didn't think of the worst possible reason, and I can't blame you for that." Abel said.

"Ah... okay... Exactly how much am I supposed to help?" Mystia asked, changing the subject.

"During the entire nights, if it's not too much trouble. Since the disappearances happen at night, we figured it would be easier to find out something during night time."

"That's a very dangerous decision considering most Youkai come out at night."

"We're traveling in large groups."

"And yet here you are, alone."

"I always stay on the night road when I travel alone and I can just avoid any stray Youkai using my sense of direction."

"You can do that?"

"As long as I want to avoid them, I'll always find the route around them."

"You're a starving Youkai's worst nightmare." Mystia said, flipping the yakitori over.

"Thank you, I try."

"That being said, isn't searching the entire night a little overboard? I mean, this isn't the first time something like this has happened, so why the extra effort?"

"The village leader's daughter is one of those who are missing. I can't really say much about her, since I've never met her, but quite a few of the villagers are distraught by her disappearance. She was really well liked, not just by her father, but by most of the village. Even though the village leader is making the orders, everyone is more than willing to search for her."

"The village leader's daughter... When did she disappear?"

"It was noted on the 19th day of this month. That's why we are only just starting to pick up our efforts now."

"But aren't you here casually chatting away? I haven't seen you do anything aside from visit my stand."

"Well, there's a reason for that."

"And what would that reason be?"

"Hmm... It would be bad if I told you right now, so let's just keep it a secret for now."

"You're thinking out loud."

"It would be overkill if we didn't have any breaks, so I just choose to spend my free time here. It's very convenient, having a yakitori stand out here in the middle of the night."

"You're still the only one who comes here on purpose. Why don't you spend your breaks with the others who are searching?"

Abel thought about it for a while, forming a fist under his chin while he pondered.

"You don't even know why?" Mystia sighed.

"Maybe... No, I just think you're interesting." Abel said.

Mystia blinked a couple times before responding with a simple, "...Huh?"

"Ah, no, what I meant was... I meant... I just enjoy your company?"

"Why is it a question!?" Mystia yelled a little flustered.

"Why are you yelling all of a sudden?" Abel asked, flustered also.

"...What?"

"Like I said... Are you feeling okay? I haven't known you for very long, but you don't just randomly raise your voice for no reason."

"I had a reason..."

"What was it?"

Mystia blinked again and responded, once again, with a simple, "...Huh?"

Mystia became very quiet. She was confused at her sudden behavior towards Abel. There really wasn't anything to act out about was there? All he said was that she was interesting...

Mystia's heart beat a little faster.

"No..." Mystia said, ignoring what her hot face and beating heart were telling her.

"...Mystia?" Abel called out to her.

She didn't respond.

"Um... Well, I really didn't know the answer to those questions..." Abel said, trying to find the right words.

Mystia couldn't face Abel. She didn't want to admit it. It was all too sudden, wasn't it?

"But I... Well..."

She barely knew him. All he did was get in her way. All he should have been to her was food, but...

"I only just realized this but..."

She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to believe it. It was such a stupid idea.

"The reason I keep coming back... The reason I can't leave you alone..."

There was so many things wrong: They only met 5 days ago. She was the reason the humans were disappearing. She planned on eating him too. She was a Youkai and he was a human.

"Mystia, I-"

There were many things wrong with this, but for all of those things that were wrong, there was one simple fact that was right.

It didn't matter what they were, as it would not change the fact, for on this night, a man confessed his love to a woman.


	9. Flightless & Lifeless (Happy & Sappy)

_Date: __Season 127, 24__th__ of Book Month (July)_

"…"

Mystia lay in her bed, unmoving. She had been awake for a while now, but she couldn't bring herself to get up. Her mind was strangely calm, despite all that had happened yesterday. It was like she was in a daze, staring at the ceiling unblinkingly.

* * *

><p><em>Date: <em>_Season 127, 23__rd__ of Book Month (July)_

After Abel confessed, she flew away at full speed, leaving her cart and Abel alone in the night. It was too much for her to confront reality at the time. She flapped her wings with a furious speed, almost as though she were flailing them about in the air. The forest blurred past her eyes and her violent flapping stretched her wings out so much that it hurt.

She continued this self-destructive movement until she realized she crashed into something… and was skidding. Somewhere along her 'flight', she took a nosedive towards the ground and tumbled along the road. Her body rolled violently, without stopping, and her wings bent at odd angles. When she finally came to a stop, on her back, she looked up at the night sky, beaming through a clearing amongst the forest branches.

The sky itself seemed blurry to her, then she realized it wasn't the sky at all. It was her eyes.

"Why… Why me, dammit!?"

The sky became even harder to make out.

"You idiot! I'm the one… I'm the monster… Why did you pick me, why wasn't it one of the stupid girls in that village of idiots you call home!?"

The silence was dyed with the echoes of Mystia's screeching voice.

"I hate you, I hate all of you! But you taste delicious! But… but!"

Her voice cracked and hiccupped, becoming a incomprehensible mess of emotions.

"I'll eat you… You're just a human… Why do I feel this way… It doesn't make sense…"

Her sobs overtook the words and she laid on her side, closed her eyes, and waited for the darkness to take her…

As long as she had waited, nothing else happened that night. She eventually got up and moved back to her house, but her eyes were lifeless and dead.

* * *

><p><em>Date: <em>_Season 127, 24__th__ of Book Month (July)_

"…Maybe I should just drown myself. He'll find me if I just move anyways, and…"

Mystia shook her head, throwing that thought out of her head. Her expression was a mixture of pain and shock. She had never once considered killing herself and that fact that she even seriously mulled over the idea hurt her even more than the damage she had caused to her wings last night.

Following up on that thought, Mystia slowly got up and gingerly moved towards the mirror. She didn't gasp at the sight, fully expecting the gruesome image since she could feel it.

It was a crumpled mess, what was once her beautiful wings. It was nothing that wouldn't heal… well, most of it anyways, for her eyes wandered at the lower tip of her left wing. The tip of the bone had been completely bent upwards and was poking out of her skin…

"I've never injured my wings once… but I did this… I did this to myself…"

Her left hand touched the blood-stained bone, her face unflinching. She couldn't feel any extra pain from touching it.

"…This is serious. I don't know how to treat something like this…"

Eientei. The word popped into her head. She knew they could probably do something about her injury, but she didn't know where it was, much less if they'd be willing to help her. Just as she started to think of other options, an image of Abel flashed in her head. She knew that his power to find things would be useful in this situation… but…

…She couldn't. There was no way she could face him at the moment. She tried to think of other, better options… But there wasn't any better option.

"…So I ate people from his village, fell in love with him while he was looking for the culprit, and now I'm going to ask for his help?" She muttered in a laughing tone, clearly in a 'non-laughing' mood.

She felt sick. Aside from the overwhelming physical pain she was enduring, her mentality was a mess. It was a wonder she hadn't threw up what little food she had left in her stomach by this point.

"What the hell am I supposed to do!?"

Without warning, she slammed her mirror on the floor with all her might, shattering the glass across the floor.

"…Ah… I broke something else." She said in a monotone, trying to process what she had just done.

"… Everything's broken… it's all messed up… so no matter what I do, it can't possibly get any worse, right?" Her voice no longer monotone, but quiet.

She turned to look outside the window, her mind finally clear, as though breaking one more thing was able to fix all her problems.

"This situation is already broken… it's already horrible, so being horrible and asking for his help won't change anything. So… I might as well do it, since it won't change the fact that… I'm horrible…"

She smiled sadly as she walked out of her room, careful to avoid the glass on the floor.

* * *

><p>Before she got all the way to the cart, which she assumed he would be waiting at, Abel ran towards her.<p>

"Mystia! What happened!?" Abel asked in an overly loud manner, clearly concerned.

"…Eientei. You can take me there, right?" Mystia asked, ignoring his question.

"Yes, of course, but…"

"Stop. Just… Please… Just take me there, okay?"

"…Okay. Do you want me to help you walk-"

"No, It's just my wings. My feet are fine."

"Okay."

With that word, Abel began guiding Mystia towards Eientei, glancing at Mystia every now and again. She was uncomfortable with his obvious fidgeting, but she understood that he was concerned about her.

"…I crashed into a tree." Mystia said, breaking the silence.

"…Huh?" Abel asked.

"Well… that's not entirely true. I got tripped up on a couple of branches, and crashed to the ground… right after you confessed." She lied, unable to think of a reason for crashing to the ground that made sense… other than the truth, of course.

"What… you've been like this ever since last night?"

Mystia nodded.

"…Why didn't you get help sooner?"

"…"

"Mystia?"

"Because I was embarrassed, alright? I got flustered and did something stupid which ended up injuring something precious to me."

"...But all night? Does it not hurt at all?"

"…No, it hurts… it's the most painful thing I've gone through in my entire life."

"…Mystia?"

"What?"

"You're crying."

"…Well of course I am, I just said that it hurts, didn't I? How far away is Eientei?"

"We're not going there."

Mystia stopped in her tracks and looked at Abel, confused.

"But you said-" She started to say.

"Eientei is in the bamboo forest. There's somewhere closer where you can get help."

A sinking feeling began to form in the bottom of Mystia's gut. The direction they were heading in was…

"…The human village?" She asked.

"…The human village." He answered.

"…No, take me to Eientei."

"I won't."

"Please?"

"No."

"Why the hell not!?"

"Because you lost that choice the moment you decided to leave it alone for an entire night."

"…What?"

"I don't care if you were embarrassed or not, if you're hurt, then don't just leave it alone!"

Abel yelled in an angry voice, the first time Mystia heard him speak like that to her. He blushed slightly as he turned his head away from Mystia, aware of his actions.

"…Sorry, just… sorry." Abel said.

"You're being selfish." Mystia pointed out.

"…I know."

"Even if I saw you the night of the injury, you'd probably bring me to the village that night as well."

"…I guess I would. I'd want you to get treatment as soon as possible."

"…What are you, an idiot? There was no need to yell at all."

"But I am mad."

"Because I didn't rely on you sooner?"

"It didn't have to be me. Anyone was fine as long as you got help."

"…No, it had to be you."

"…Huh?"

"…I never would have went to the human village. I never would have been able to get help in finding Eientei from the phoenix. I didn't know anyone who could help me with my injury; the youkai I do know probably wouldn't be able to do anything about it. So… It had to be you."

"Oh."

"Yeah… oh."

The silence filled the night air again, solidifying the awkwardness among the two. This continued until they saw a light in the distance, growing larger as they approached it.

"…Have you never been to the human village at night?" Abel asked Mystia.

"…No, I've never been to the human village at all. I've avoided it…" Mystia stated.

"Do you know what it's like?"

"…I've heard some youkai mention it."

The human village wasn't necessarily a Youkai-free zone. There were youkai who visited the area and stores, more so during nighttime. As Akyu had once written in her _Perfect Memento in Strict Sense_; "…many stores are kept open late at night, nocturnal business may also be done at stores exclusively for youkai. Since many youkai are active at night, such stores are quite prosperous."*

"I know a doctor who deals with youkai injuries during nighttime." Abel said.

"Is this doctor also a youkai?" Mystia asked.

"Yes… Everyone calls her Ali."

"'Calls her'…?"

"No one really knows her real name and she doesn't speak… but she's very kind and good at what she does"

"Does she not even bother trying to communicate… I mean through writing or something?"

"No… not really."

"How did everyone know what she was there to do then?"

"Another youkai came with her and introduced her. She stayed around for a couple of weeks to make sure people… er, youkai knew, then she just left when she felt she had done enough to let others know. Word of mouth took care of the rest."

"I see…"

The village was right in front of them now, the sound of silent chatter with a slight rowdiness filled the air with a pleasant atmosphere. Mystia didn't feel anything close to 'pleasant' however, and stopped walking.

"…I don't think I can do this." Mystia sighed.

Abel turned to face Mystia as he spoke, "Why have you been so reluctant to come here?"

"I…" Her voice trailed off, unable to speak the truth.

"…Are you afraid?"

Mystia looked at Abel, knowing he completely misunderstood why she was afraid. If she had absolutely no attachment to a human, then she could walk in without a care in the world. Unfortunately, she suddenly and without warning felt… 'something' when she was with Abel. It shouldn't have been anything too strong since she only met him a week ago, but her chest hurt too much for it to be a simple meaningless feeling.

"…I see, it's a crush?", Mystia said aloud.

"Pardon?" Abel asked.

"I'm afraid… of seeing the faces of people… and never knowing if I ate someone they cared about." Mystia spoke honestly, yet vaguely, not mentioning when she ate them.

"Hey, It's… well, I guess I don't have the right to say it's ok, but nothing can change what's been done. Just… take one step at a time. I'll be here for you, every step of the way."

Mystia blushed furiously when Abel said it with a straight face. Abel, upon realizing the embarrassing thing he just said, also blushed a deep red.

"Y-you idiot, I haven't even told you if I loved you or not." Mystia said, pouting.

"Doesn't matter. If you're not my lover, then you're my friend, and so I'd help you either way." Abel said, turning his face away.

"This is bad for my heart, I think I can't take any more of your mushy…ness." Mystia said, her heart beating rapidly, as though it agreed.

"Then you're going to hate this next part."

"Which is…?"

Abel grabbed Mystia's left hand and faced her once more. As her eyes opened wider in bewilderment, he spoke yet again.

"Let's go… Mystia", his face still red, but a warm smile spread across.

After that, Mystia's heart beat so loudly she wondered if it could be heard throughout the entire village…

* * *

><p>They held hands all the way to the youkai doctor. Mystia was embarrassed, but thankful at the same time, because she forgot all about her worries as they walked through the village. She didn't even look at the other people and youkai, she just stared at Abel's hand over her's. It wasn't a strong hand, nor was it firm. It was… gentle. He grasped her hand softly, as though he was afraid of exerting too much force.<p>

"…Y-you know… umm… you can hold on tighter… I'm stronger than you, you know?" Mystia said, enjoying the sensation.

"…W-well, okay." Abel said, his hands not holding on any tighter.

"…Wait… It's not that you're afraid of hurting me, but because you're embarrassed?"

"…"

"You're the one who grabbed my hand in the first place…"

"…"

"…Take that!"

Mystia suddenly squeezed Abel's hand tightly.

"Ow, hey!" Abel yelped.

"It's your own fault, you wouldn't hold on tighter, so I did it instead." Mystia said with a mischievous grin.

"N-no it's not… I keep thinking about how c-cute you are and my hand just becomes timid."

Mystia blushed again…

"There!"

…And squeezed Abel's hand tightly yet again.

"Ow… But you really are cute, you know."

"And again!"

She squeezed Abel's hand even tighter, but didn't let up this time.

"Ow, ow ,ow! Why are you hurting me, it's a compliment!"

"Shush, stop flirting with me when I need to see a doctor!" Mystia exclaimed, flustered.

"…Oh yeah, that's right."

Suddenly, Abel pulled Mystia in the opposite direction.

"You… did you seriously forget?" Mystia asked.

"N-no, I just got distracted so we walked by it… It's right there anyways." Abel said, pointing to the small wooden building.

"…Fine, but… please stop saying mushy stuff. We're not a couple." Mystia said, pouting

"…Who's holding onto my hand so tightly?" Abel asked with a grin.

"Shut up, idiot."

"…Oh no, you're a tsundere?"

"A what?"

"A beautiful girl who's too shy to admit her true feelings."

After that remark, Mystia's red face became an even deeper shade, and her hand clenched down so hard on Abel's that he screamed in pain. He was glad that a doctor was nearby…

* * *

><p>Ali, the youkai doctor, was a slender young woman with red hair, and a far-away gaze that seemed unfocused. She didn't even acknowledge the patient, Mystia, and just got to work, slightly disturbing her. It was like she was just a thing that needed to be fixed… that was the impression Ali left on her, but she wasn't mistreated. In fact, her treatment was fast… exactly like Mystia wanted it; it was as though Ali knew the way Mystia preferred to be treated.<p>

She did feel a sharp pain, as well as some worry when Ali broke off the bone that stuck out, but Ali still ignored her. She was somehow… comforted by that, which confused her, and began to wonder what type of youkai Ali was.

After wrapping a bandage tightly around the open wound of her wing, Mystia got up and left the room… confused yet again, because she somehow just 'knew' that Ali was done with her. Abel came in after, also looking confused, but Ali simply tended to his hand, apparently sprained because of Mystia's strength.

"It's like… no words need to be said, your injuries are treated." Abel said as they walked out.

"All of her actions seemed emotionless, but… I just knew that there was kindness behind them…?" Mystia asked, still confused about the encounter.

"I tried asking someone, Akyu, what type of youkai Ali was, but she just said that it would be rude of her to say."

"Rude…?"

"Like… maybe she Ali doesn't want anyone to know and Akyu is respecting that?"

"Hmm…"

"Anyways, how's your wing?"

"Well… I know I can't fly for a couple of weeks… once again, I just 'know', but I also just 'know' that I should try stretching it after a couple of days, with caution."

"I guess that's the doctors 'advice'?"

"I guess so."

As they stood on the streets of the village, Mystia was deep in thought about what she should do now that she got treatment. She had relied on Abel, who was a human… her mortal enemy, but her impulsive feelings told herself that she couldn't see him as such. She was already aware of the fact that she was attracted to him, for whatever illogical reason, and that being with him made her happy… and incredibly hurt at the same time.

_What would he think if he knew I ate those villagers?_

_If I pretend it never happened and decided to accept his feelings, would I be able to keep this guilt to myself?_

…_If I tell him about what I've done… would he still be forgiving?_

…_If I run away, will I ever feel this way again?_

These thoughts of uncertainty and worry circled around Mystia's head. She was moving too fast… but she needed Abel's help for treatment, so she couldn't help but think about these things… as well as get swept up in his little "lovey-dovey" atmosphere he created when he took her hand. She was behaving irrationally, and completely changed her values in a matter of days.

_But… it feels like something will slip away from me… something I may never have the chance to get, ever again._

"…Why not?" Mystia said out loud.

"Hmm, what do you mean?" Abel asked.

Mystia turned to face a confused Abel, her mind set on its decision. She knew she was most likely getting carried away… and she was already aware that it would be going too fast, but her impulsiveness took over.

"Mystia…?" Abel asked again.

"Hey, isn't that the phoenix over there?" Mystia said, looking off in the other direction.

"Is it?" Abel turned, looking around for a familiar face, but finding nothing.

Sighing, he turned back to face Mystia and said, "Why would-"

Mystia moved forward and sealed his lips with her own.

"…"

"…"

After a very silent and quick kiss, Mystia turned away from Abel, her hands behind her back.

"…You're stupid, naive, constantly harassing me… constantly making my heart beat faster, kind and caring… and I've been feeling kinda lonely… so, maybe you aren't the worst person-"

She turned around, her earnest smile on display to convey her feelings.

"-to fall in love with."

* * *

><p><em><span>Works Cited<span>_

Ichijinsha. _Perfect Memento in Strict Sense_. Team Shanghai Alice, 2006.


	10. (Final) Resting Place

_Date: Season 127, 5__th__ of Leaf Month (August)_

"Nothing today either?"

Abel shook his head, "No. It's been quiet for a while now, maybe the Yōkai moved on?"

The other search party member, Yuto, sighed as he looked at Mystia, who stayed back near the trees. He wanted to say something about the timing of the activity going down, and when Abel started dating Mystia, but he kept it to himself. He didn't want Abel getting angry again, but it still bothered him.

"What about her, has she found anything?" Yuto gestured to Mystia.

"We're working together; anything she finds, I'll know about." Abel stated.

"Well… If that's the case, I guess we came up empty handed tonight as well."

"…Yeah."

"Hey, they're talking about lifting the curfew right now, you know."

"So I've heard."

"We've been searching for disturbances this entire time; we even had that one shrine maiden help us for one night, and yet it's been completely peaceful."

"…"

"You're probably right, that they moved on." _Or found something better to do_, Yuto continued on in his thoughts as he glanced at Mystia again.

"Do you have something to say?" Abel asked, his tone more threatening when he noticed Yuto was looking at Mystia.

"No. I'm just still not used to working with her, that's all."

"...Fine. Just stop acting that way around her; I'm sure it makes her uncomfortable."

"I'll try, I promise."

Abel looked up at the sky, a very dim blue signalling that the sun would arrive soon.

"Time to call it quits for now." Abel said.

"Yeah, see you tonight." Yuto said, returning to his group.

"…" Abel stood their quietly as Yuto's group began chatting amongst themselves while they returned home. He knew all too well what others were thinking; Mystia stopped eating the villagers when she started dating Abel. That's what it looked like… and he had no proof that said otherwise.

"Hey, are you tired?" Mystia asked, walking up behind Abel.

"Yeah, you?" Abel responded, shaking his doubts out of his head.

"I could sleep." Mystia said, yawning right after finishing her statement.

"My place or yours?"

"Mine… No wait, didn't I say I'm not ready for that yet?" Mystia blushed slightly at Abel's trick question.

"A little joke, but I'm perfectly serious if that answer wasn't a mistake."

"It was a mistake, I was too tired. Geez, you knew I'd mess up."

"That clumsy part of you is cute."

"Shut-up, you're sleeping on the couch."

"I thought we weren't sleeping together?"

"Of course not, but if you… umm… if I want to see you, I need to wait for you to come out to the forest…" Mystia admitted shyly.

"Mystia, you're so adorable." Abel teased.

"Wha- N-no I'm not!"

"Sexy?"

"The description isn't the problem… No wait, I guess I _**would**_ want to be sexy… Gah, what am I even saying!?"

"It only takes me an hour to get ready and walk to the forest."

"That's too long, I want to be with you more- No wait, what are you making me say!?"

"I'm making you say 'Ahn, that feels so good, do it more, please~'"

"Should I add 'sexual harassment' to the long list of things I hate about you?"

"You know, while we've been bantering this entire time, the sun's started to come up." Abel said, pointing towards the horizon which had begun to turn a dim orange.

"Oh, you're right." Mystia said, her face no longer showing embarrassment.

"…Just how _**much**_ of that was an act?"

"A lady needs to have her secrets", Mystia stuck out her tongue tauntingly, refusing to tell Abel.

"Anyways, do you really want me to sleep over? There's no guarantee I'll be able to hold myself back-"

"Don't be silly, it's because it's _**you**_ that I know nothing will happen."

"Why do I feel like I was just insulted?"

"…You don't want to?" Mystia asked, her grey eyes peering into Abel's as she put her arms around his neck.

"Hey, that's not fair." Abel said, his heart beating faster.

"_Do-you-want-to~?_", Mystia whispered, bringing her mouth close to Abel's ear.

"Please stop saying it so suggestively." Abel pleaded, his face completely red.

Mystia giggled as she twirled her fingers in Abel's hair.

"It's revenge for always teasing me. I'm the older one you know, so you should be the submissive." Mystia argued.

"So I take it you're going to take the lead during our first time?" Abel asked.

"Your first time."

"Wow, I didn't know you already committed adultery in the short time we've been together."

"We're dating, not married. Also, you don't know if I'm-"

"Do you want me to ask?"

"No, that's a surprise for later."

"'A lady needs to have her secrets', right?"

"That's right. Can you answer me now?"

"Absolutely."

"You should have just said so from the start."

"But then you would've moved out of this position." Abel said, Mystia's arms still around his neck and her face close to his.

"Oh, that reminds me."

"What is it?"

Mystia smirked before stealing Abel's lips and invading his mouth with her tongue. Abel reacted by grabbing onto her butt and leaning into the kiss as well, but Mystia took her hands off Abel's neck to raise his hands to her waist. She broke off the kiss and muttered, "Pervert", before intruding inside his mouth yet again.

No matter how many times she kissed him, it always felt like fireworks were going off in her head. It felt even better when he sucked on her tongue, a mind-numbing pleasure coursing throughout her body. She felt tingly, warm, float-y (Like she was in the clouds), and dizzy all at the same time.

When she broke off the kiss, this time for good, she noticed that Abel had lowered his hands to her ass again.

"Geez, stop touching me in weird places." Mystia complained.

"You must've been really into it to not notice where my hands were." Abel smiled slyly.

Mystia flicked his forehead as she blushed, annoyed because Abel was right on the mark. She knew it to be true from the heat emanating from her 'special place'.

"…I might be ready for 'it' soon after all." Mystia muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Abel asked, unable to make out what Mystia said.

"Let's go." Mystia said, implying she muttered something about going to her home.

Abel nodded as he took her hand. Despite her earlier boldness, Mystia still could feel her heart pounding whenever Abel took her hand, remembering the night she confessed. She was surprised with herself whenever she kissed him, but it felt way too good for her to stop…

_Oh no, I might be a pervert myself_, Mystia thought, looking down at the ground in shame.

"Something wrong?" Abel asked, noticing Mystia's strange behaviour.

"Oh no, I'm just still nervous about you coming over." Mystia lied.

"When you invited me?"

"Of course, am I not allowed to feel nervous?"

"No, I understand. I guess it's the first time we're sharing a roof together, even if it might not be in the same room."

"Y-yeah." Mystia stuttered, thinking about what would happen if they shared a bed together.

They continued on silently until they reached Mystia's house, refusing to let go of each other's hands even as they entered the structure.

"Oh, are you leading me to the bedroom?" Abel teased.

"Shush, you aren't letting go either." Mystia retorted.

"I love you."

"No."

"Umm… I adore you?"

"Not tonight, I said. We should probably go to bed now."

Abel was about to open his mouth before Mystia continued on to say, "By 'bed' I mean couch for you."

"Wait, that couch wasn't a joke?" Abel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't have any extra beds since I never have anyone sleep over… You're my first." Mystia ended the sentence by turning her head away in 'shyness', suggestively speaking softly.

"I'll be gentle." Abel said, chuckling to himself.

"…We really should sleep."

"…Yeah, I guess I'm tired."

Both spoke as though it were the end of the conversation, but neither made it a goal to let go. Abel looked down at their hands, and turned completely red as he thought of something.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much do you trust me?" Abel asked.

"Ten. Even if you tell lies, it's quite obvious." Mystia said.

"Really?"

"I knew that visiting the night stand for the sake of visiting it wasn't your original goal."

"Well what I'm about to suggest is more a matter of trust than one of lying."

"There's a difference?"

Abel breathed in slowly, and when he gathered the courage, he asked, "No sex, but do you want to sleep in the same bed?"

Mystia stiffened as her heart began pounding again, the thought of Abel being in her bed way too tempting for her right now.

"Absolutely not." Mystia spoke sternly, wanting to wait a little while longer before her first time.

"But-"

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep with you in my bed."

"Would you be able to sleep with the knowledge I was in your house?"

"What does that… Oh."

Mystia finally realized what Abel was getting at. As restless as she would be with him sleeping with her, she would be even more bothered by the fact that she was missing a chance to be with him longer. Mystia's face became smothered with heat; Abel could see right through her, as though… well, as though she were naked.

"S-stop looking at me like that." Mystia pleaded.

"What's this all of a sudden, was I thinking too highly of myself?" Abel scratched his head with his free hand.

"N-no, you were right."

"You did say the reason you wanted to stay together was so that you'd see me sooner, but doesn't that also mean you wanted to stay with me longer?"

"I just said you were right…"

"In other words, you want me to lose all control and ravage you in an act of lust?"

"Now _**that's**_ wrong."

"I'll stop joking now. What do you think?"

Mystia thought about Abel lying next to her under the sheets, his brown eyes peering into her soul as she could feel the warmth slowly crawling from his body to hers. She soon wondered if it was really okay not to do _**it**_… '_**it**_' being sex… as she wasn't as opposed to the idea as she originally thought. Still, she wanted to see if Abel really wouldn't do anything. It was silly, but if she was having a hard time holding back, then she wanted to see if Abel would do the same if it was for her sake.

"It's very selfish of me." Mystia muttered to herself.

"If you don't want to feel guilty about it, then we can do it when we wake up." Abel suggested jokingly.

"…" Mystia pondered the thought, as though it were a good idea.

"Mystia?"

"I believe I was leading you to bed?" Mystia spoke softly as she leaned in to Abel.

Caught off guard by the sudden seduction, Abel swallowed hard and retorted dryly, "Please be gentle."

"I know you're trying to be a gentleman, but that's not what it means." Mystia joked, leading Abel towards her room with her arms wrapped around his left arm.

"I can feel your breasts." Abel noted.

"Mhm." Mystia nodded.

"Your right wing is curling around my back."

"Mhm."

"Your hands are warm."

"Mhm"

"Are you feeling alright!?"

"You got the order of statements wrong."

"Did I?"

"You're supposed to start with the smallest situation, then work your way up-"

"Are you really going to explain the joke?"

"-to the largest situation, which I acknowledge without embarrassment. That's when you retort."

"You already know I did that on purpose."

"For all I knew, you could have been dumbfounded by my beauty up close."

"Well, my heart _**did**_ skip a- Woah!" Abel exclaimed, being thrown onto the bed so suddenly.

Mystia looked down at him mischievously, her finger pressed against her lips suggestively. The term 'nymphomaniac' ran throughout Abel's head, wondering just how much they would do if this was what she was like as a virgin. He immediately noted that it wasn't confirmed whether she was or not, but the way she timidly followed him on the night she confessed suggested she had little experience to none.

Mystia then crawled on top of him, her hands pinning his arms to the bed as she leaned in.

_Oh god, is she __**really**__ a virgin?_, Abel asked himself, unsure.

Mystia then inched her head forward closer, Abel closing his eyes in expectation. When he did, he could feel a light peck on his forehead and a weight being lifted off his body. When he looked to his side, he could see Mystia smiling, overjoyed.

"Now I know why you tease me, it's quite fun." Mystia said.

Abel laughed nervously, losing composure as he continued thinking about Mystia continuing what she hinted at.

"Also, you're a pervert." Mystia said, gesturing towards the middle of the bed.

Abel following Mystia's gesture, could see a tent being pitched beneath his pants. Flustered, he hid his lower half underneath the bed sheets and lifted his knees up to hide the bulge.

"Your fault." Abel accused.

"Sorry, I just ended up thinking about how hard you would try to hold back and then, before I knew it, I wanted to make it harder for you." Mystia said.

"You made 'it' harder alright, you sadist."

"You're even joking in that state? I'm impressed."

"That entire statement wasn't even a joke; you made 'it' harder, and you just proved yourself to be a sadist."

"Well then, goodnight!" Mystia exclaimed, pulling the sheets over her and turning her back on Abel.

"_**Definitely **_a sadist if you enjoy ignoring me."

Mystia smiled as she faced Abel once more and held his left hand.

"We can sleep like this, right?" Mystia asked.

"Y-yeah." Abel nodded.

Both Mystia and Abel couldn't stop looking at the other as the minutes passed. Mystia gave an awkward smile while Abel gave an exasperated look in response. Finally, Mystia sighed and let go of Abel's hand.

"It's no good, I can't close my eyes like that." Mystia said, giving up.

"Let's just sleep for now." Abel said.

"Mmm" Mystia nodded, before turning her back against the mattress.

Abel did the same, staring up at the ceiling. The room was dim black, curtains blocking out the rising sun. Even as they couldn't stop the awareness that the other was in the bed, both Mystia and Abel's eyes grew heavy in their nervous silence. The sounds of their breathing a reminder of how they were not alone, and the scent of Mystia all around reminding Abel where he was. Eventually, the nervousness became a comfort as they grew too tired to do anything more but sleep.

* * *

><p>Abel's entire body felt heavy as he slowly grasped his surroundings, a warm blanket wrapped around him. He felt the need to stretch out his arms, only to find that they were bound by the blanket. When he stubbornly tried to force them to stretch again, however;<p>

"Mmm"

He found that his blanket was a sleepy night sparrow who had attached herself to Abel. Using him as a body pillow, Mystia's arms were wrapped around Abel's chest and her legs were entwined with his right leg, the thighs in a 'precarious' position near Abel's crotch. Her breath was also brushing against Abel's right arm, not helping his growing awareness. Abel became more aroused, his grogginess working against his rational thought as lustful visions ran rampant in his head; Mystia licking his earlobe as she ran her fingers across his chest, her playful smile as she played with his expanding cock… thoughts like that.

When he finally regained all consciousness, his manhood was towering beneath his clothes, the rubbing from Mystia's thighs becoming a catalyst with the combination of his drowsy fantasies. He wondered whether this was a blessing or a curse, the sensation unbearably erotic. Mystia's sleeping face also looked like it was having a 'fun' time, smiling as though she were clinging to Abel's body on purpose.

He then felt a need to relieve himself, and, despite wanting to linger for a bit longer, moved out of Mystia's clutches carefully. He quickly left, took care of business, and found that there were no more bed sheets for him to use, as all had been 'snuggled' by Mystia.

"See, you're even a sadist in your sleep." Abel whispered tauntingly to the unconscious Yōkai.

* * *

><p>A loud knock could be heard ringing throughout the house, rousing Mystia, who felt her own drool pressing against her from the stained hem of the bed sheets. Abel was next to her, with another bed sheet he had grabbed from her closet, waking up also.<p>

"Mokou." Abel spoke immediately. He knew that only him, her and Mystia knew where this place was.

The knocking became even louder, a muffled voice yelling beyond the walls.

"Shoo her away." Mystia mumbled in a daze.

"Mystia, if she took the time to come all the way here and knock like there's no tomorrow, then something must be seriously wrong." Abel reasoned, trying to bring Mystia to an alert state.

Immediately, Mystia's eyes grew wide, giving Abel an indication that it had worked. He misunderstood, however, why Mystia was alert. She wondered; if no one knew Abel were here, then why would Mokou come with a furious wake-up call?

_Does she know!?_ Mystia threw her sheets off the bed as she leaped out.

"Wha- Mystia?" Abel asked, confused.

"Stay here. No one knows you're here, so it might be something she wants only me to hear." Mystia reasoned.

Before hearing his response, Mystia was at the front door, opening it for a rather threatening-looking Mokou.

"Where's Abel?" She spoke, her tone hinting at hostility.

When she heard those words, Mystia immediately sighed relief and said, "Calm down, he only stayed over."

Mystia could hear Abel slap himself in the forehead as Mokou's face twitched.

"Wha- _**What the fuck are you two doing!?**_" Mokou yelled, aware of Abel's presence from the sound of the slap.

"Mokou, I'm sorry, I know I should've told someone-" Abel started as he walked out of Mystia's room.

"No, dammit, that's not it!" Mokou interrupted.

Both Abel and Mystia stiffened at Mokou's unrelenting emotionally outburst, realizing there was something other than that making her this way.

"You both need to come with me right now." Mokou said, becoming quiet all of a sudden as her expression turned dark.

* * *

><p>In a lonely house in the human village, there was once a young man who lived there. He had no family, no loves, and wasn't known for anything in particular. That being said, everyone knew him. He went to the school with your son and daughter, was up to no good when he cheated on that one test, always made friends wherever he went.<p>

Even as Abel and Mystia walked into the house of the young man, they remembered those stories of him, despite the image before their eyes.

Mystia was the most shaken up, however, when she saw it.

_Why…__**Why!?**_, Mystia thought as she collapsed to her knees.

The killings had to stop. There was no way for them to continue as long as she was with Abel.

So why then, with his entrails exposed and bloody limbs scattered, did Yuto lay unmoving in that house?


	11. (A)Side 1: TaStE

_**HuNgErY…hUnGeRy…WhY?**_

_**FoOd No GoOd, NoT tAsTy At AlL…**_

_**sMeLl? WhAt'S tHaT sMeLl?**_

_**FoLlOw…ThE sMeLl…**_

_**. . . . . **_

_**. . . **_

_**TaStE?**_

_nO!_

_**yEs?**_

_No!_

_**YeS, tOo HuNgReY, mUsT tAsTe…**_

_**JuSt A bItE…**_

_**hE sPeAkS lIkE hE kNoWs Me**_

_**ChOkE hIm**_

_**WrInG hIs NeCk, He WoN't NeEd It…**_

_**TaStE**_

_**bItE**_

…_**iT tAsTeS gOoD?**_

_**dElIcIoUs?**_

_**DeLiCiOuS.**_

_**dElIcIoUs.**_

_**DELICIOUS!**_

_**. . . . . .**_

_**. . .**_

…_**nO, tOo FuLl?**_

_**ShAmE, wAnT mOrE.**_

_**tIrEd, NeEd SlEeP…**_

_**tOmOrRoW i'Ll EaT mOrE**_

_**bEcAuSe **__They taste delicious._


	12. (B)Side 1: Guilt

Yuto was dead. No, more than that… he was _**eaten.**_ Abel crouched down to Mystia's trembling side, asking her if she was alright, but Mystia couldn't hear him. She never left any trace of the person when she ate the humans, but she still couldn't help but see Yuto's wide-eyed expression of terror staring deep into her soul.

_You did this._

All of her victims, one by one, looked at her with rage and hatred, calling for her to join them in death.

_You killed us._

Even though he was most certainly dead, Mystia could see Yuto's detached head look up at her, and slowly opened his mouth to the point where the sides split.

"_YOU'RE A MONSTER!"_, the fantasy screamed at her.

Mystia couldn't scream, staring at her delusion with mesmerized fear. She didn't kill him, but there was no doubt he had the testimony of her victims, speaking to him in death. She was judged by the dead, unable to evade their maliciousness from beyond. She knew they should have crossed the river, and yet her guilt wouldn't have her believe she was safe from them.

"Mystia!" Abel's voice came through for the first time, Mystia's clouded eyes focusing on him.

"I-I killed them…"

There was a silence that filled the room, Abel's hands letting go of Mystia as he stared at her with fear, the meaning of those words sinking in. To make matters worse, they weren't the only ones in that room who heard her confession; Mokou, and three other humans of the night watch were in attendance.

"Wh-What are you saying…?" Abel asked, desperately hoping he heard her wrong.

"…I…Before I met you… I…" Mystia couldn't choke out the words, but everyone already knew what she was implying.

"You bitch!" Naoto, one of the humans, yelled as he charged at her before being held back by the other two humans.

"…But you didn't kill this one."

Everyone, including Naoto, turned to face the talking Mokou, seemingly unaffected by Mystia's confession. She still had the same silent look of rage she had when they entered the building.

"You knew…?" Mystia asked.

"The killings _did_ stop after you two started dating." Mokou said sharply, seemingly insulted that Mystia thought she could keep it a secret.

"Wait, how do you know she didn't kill Yuto as well?" Sachi, the only female of the three humans, asked.

"Because _he_ didn't disappear." Mokou stated, gesturing to Yuto's corpse.

Everyone looked back to Yuto's body, silence befalling them once more; Mystia was scared of what might happen, now that everyone knew. Abel had grasped onto Mystia once more, tighter this time, bottling up his repressed feelings of regret and anger over Lara's death. Naoto gritted his teeth, still upset over Mystia, but ultimately realizing they had another threat on their hands. Sachi and Mokou seemed lost in thought over it all, and Reid, the last human in the room, timidly looked from one person to the other as he let go of his grip on Naoto.

"…I need some time." Abel said, breaking the silence and his grip on Mystia as he started leaving.

"No, wait-" Mystia started.

"I-Need-Time." Abel said, warning Mystia to not push the matter further.

"Don't leave me alone, I can't-" Mystia said, reaching out her hand.

"_**Leave me the fuck alone!**_" Abel yelled as he slapped Mystia's hand away, making everyone in the room jump. He took a few deep breaths and spoke as calmly as he could, "I _**can't**_ be here for you, not right now, not when I feel so… just… give me some time to think."

Mystia couldn't do anything but watch as Abel left the house, something breaking inside her. She couldn't handle the weight of her sins, crushing her soul all at once. That's why she needed Abel, the only one who forgave her, to stay and help her. She knew, deep down, that there was no way he would just be 'okay' with the truth, but even so…

"_I'm sorry…!_" Mystia sobbed, her voice sputtering on her tears.

He said he forgave her because she had come to truly value human lives. That gave her hope, that maybe, it would be alright if he found out the truth one day.

"_Don't leave me alone… please…_"

That maybe, one day, she'd find that it was alright to fall in love. But reality doesn't revolve around the wants and needs of a single being.

* * *

><p>"Wh-What do we do n-now?" Reid asked, everyone still shaken up at Abel's uncharacteristic outburst.<p>

Mokou sighed as she looked at the kneeling Mystia and said, "I'll take care of things here. You can have them take the body out in an hour or so, also-" she scratched the back of her head, as though unsure of what she was going to say, "-don't talk about what you've learned here."

"What the fuck are you saying!? This little-" Naoto started before being silenced by Mokou's glare.

"She can do a better job during the nights than any of us combined, myself included. If you don't want even more villagers to die, I'd suggest roasting her alive as a terrible idea." Mokou reasoned, keeping her voice stern, but having a tinge of anger to it as well.

Naoto shut his mouth, perhaps noticing Mokou's anger and interpreting it as rage towards Mystia. Either way, he calmed down, albeit with grumbling noises.

"Go." Mokou said, not permitting anymore talk. The humans obeyed and left the house quickly, leaving Mokou with a broken down Mystia muttering disturbingly in her sobs.

"_The taste, it's coming back to me. Why won't it leave me alone? Abel…Abeeeeel. I don't want this, I never wanted any of this._" Mystia said in a low mono-tone voice.

"Snap out of it, you moron." Mokou said, slamming a fist into Mystia's head. She yelped in pain, clutching the top of her head as she turned to face Mokou in rage.

"What was that-!?" Mystia started.

"See? You're not a damn bird-brain despite being a bird, so stop acting like one!" Mokou yelled.

Mystia blinked, forgetting her pain. She didn't feel as broken as she was before, the punch becoming a form of shock therapy.

"But I really did some terrible things, and even Abel left me." Mystia said.

"Geez, were you listening to him at all?" Mokou asked.

"…Huh?"

"You're thinking he's abandoned you, but all he needs is time to think. That's what he said, wasn't it?"

"B-But…"

"Abel isn't the kind of guy to abandon someone who's suffering, but he's still human. There are some times when he isn't ready to handle certain things… like this."

"Like when his girlfriend ate someone close to him and lied about it? You're right, I'm sure he'll be kissing me like no tomorrow after he's 'thought about it'." Mystia sarcastically said, her face showing no expectation for Abel to forgive her.

Mokou sighed in resignation as she kneeled in front of Mystia, surprising her as she looked her straight in the eyes.

"Look, there was a time when I killed people as well, you know?" Mokou said, unflinching.

"…You did?" Mystia asked, confused as to where this was going.

"I did. Lives didn't really matter to me all that much, since I can't die myself, right? That's why I had no regard for the people around me for a long time. It's not like they'd live long enough to make me regret it for the rest of my life, since it never ends. But then I met some human kids, annoying ones, who pestered me over and over again, saying my powers were cool. One day, however, I was really upset because I lost to Kaguya, dying ten times more than she had that day."

"Kaguya?" Mystia asked, looking for more details.

Ignoring her, Mokou continued, "That same day, the children found me walking along the dirt road. I told them to leave me alone, but they wouldn't. So, with my patience at a low and their voices getting on my nerves… I ended up taking my frustrations out on them."

Mokou paused, allowing Mystia some time to follow her story, then continued, "After I did what I did, there was this strange… feeling; like something was weighing my body down and it wouldn't go away. I ignored it and eventually it went away, but then the parents came with some hunters, looking for revenge. I did what I always did to nuisances and burned them without a second thought… but one of the mothers were still alive. Just before I stomped on her head, she looked up to me, with this… look of pity and asked, 'Do you feel nothing for my daughter, who admired you so?'"

Taking a deep breath to remain calm, Mokou stopped speaking. Mystia, still looking into her eyes, was awestruck that Mokou had such a past.

"I… Finally understood what that feeling was; the one I ignored. It was guilt. I actually enjoyed having the attention of the children, but I was too stupid to realize it. Now here I was, staring down at this human, tears falling from my eyes as I mourned for the lives that wouldn't return… the ones I took. Without even thinking about that human's feelings, I then asked, 'What am I supposed to do now, since nothing I do will bring them back?' She was surprised and shocked when I did this, as was I. I guess I just asked the first thing that was on my mind, and she was the nearest one there. She then said something I would never forget, 'That's for you to decide, as you have to live with the consequences of your own decisions for the rest of your life'" Mokou finished, looking at Mystia for some sign of understanding.

"Wasn't she condemning you?" Mystia asked.

"That's what I thought at first as well, but what she actually meant was that nothing could change what I had done. I can't go back in time and get rid of the guilt of killing those children, so it'll remain with me for all eternity. It didn't matter whether she forgave me or not, since it doesn't erase history. That's why it's so important not to look for forgiveness from others, but to use your time in a way that you can forgive yourself… Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" Mokou asked.

Mystia couldn't stop staring at Mokou as though she were a complete stranger, her words completely unexpected, especially since it was _**Mokou**_ talking to her.

"I… I don't know what to say." Mystia said, struggling to find the words to express her gratitude for Mokou's kindness.

"For the record, don't think I like you. I _still_ can't stand your attitude and ego, but this time is just… special, since it's reminding me of something." Mokou said, turning her face away as her cheeks reddened slightly.

"Even so… thank you." Mystia said, smiling.

"S-Shut-up, it's only because Abel's a friend and he looks really happy when he's with you."

And with the mention of Abel's name, Mystia's expression soured again.

"…It's not that I doubt him. He's pretty incredible at surprising people, but I wonder if this is too much for him." Mystia voiced her concerns.

"If I'm being honest right now, I don't know. But what I do know is that he held on to you really tight when he finally understood what you had done." Mokou said.

"So?"

"His first reaction wasn't to harm you, but to look to you for strength. Even if he doesn't know it yet, I think he's already decided on whether or not he'll forgive you."

"He… looked to me for strength?"

"He probably wasn't doing it consciously, but the fact that he hugged you means it comforted him, knowing he had someone there for him."

"…But I needed him to be here for me, not the other way around…"

"So you didn't feel anything from being hugged?"

Mystia looked back to when Abel held her with all of his might. She knew it was an excruciating experience, but she somehow turned out alright during the time he was there.

"But he left." Mystia stated, remembering how devastated she became when he left.

"Which he would have done sooner if not for you- Gah, this is so frustrating! Look, just wait for him to come back to you. Everything will turn out alright, knowing how selfish the two of you are." Mokou said.

"He's not selfish!" Mystia pouted, ignoring the fact she was called selfish as well, since she agreed.

"…Whatever, I'm done being nice for today. Come on, we need to get out of the way so they can give his body a proper burial or cremation or whatever they do during this age; I haven't been to a funeral in so long." Mokou said, getting off topic as she headed for the door.

Letting go of the matter, as she knew they would be talking forever if things continued, Mystia finally stood to her feet and followed after Mokou. She realized she was in a much better mood, thanks to Mokou. The way she spoke during that time reminded Mystia that, even though Mokou rarely acted it, she had many more years of wisdom than most, herself included. But she still couldn't help but fear what Abel would say the next time they met, despite Mokou's reassurance.


	13. (A)Side 2: fOoD

ToO mUcH

wAy ToO mUcH

pAiN?

hUnGeR?

_**hUnGeR.**_

_**cRyInG?**_

_**i HeAr CrYiNg?**_

_**MaLe BoY, uPsEt?**_

_**DoN't MaTtEr.**_

_**He YeLlS aT mE?**_

_**sOmEtHiNg AbOuT bEiNg AlOnE.**_

_**pAy No HeEd, LiStEn To NeEd.**_

_**KiLl AnD hIdE.**_

_**HiDe ThE bOdY fOr FoOd.**_

_**OtHeR fOoD nO lOnGeR gOoD.**_

_**kIlL hIm.**_

_**HmM?**_

_**hE cRiEs OuT sOmE wOmAn'S nAmE?**_

_**tOo MuCh NoIsE.**_

_**KILL. KILL. KILLLLIKLKIKLKIKLKKKIKLKIKLKJKK928384624`01`81`-901`20`0-2-1302834945932413-0-120010#%^%$#%^%^*^&(*&%#...**_

_**No MoRe NoIsE**_

_**cArRy ThE fOoD.**_

_**nOnE wIlL kNoW**_

_**iNtO hErE**_

_**nOw I eAt**_

_**HiS pAiN nO mOrE**_

_mY pAiN nO mOrE_

Insane no more.


	14. (C)Side 1: Deaf Ears

"Hey."

That was the word that greeted Mokou when she got back to her house, Abel waiting at the front. Mokou had accompanied Mystia back to her house before leaving to her own, knowing Abel would be waiting.

"Let me guess; you've already gotten over it and want to go back to Mystia, but you're worried she will push you away after what happened?" Mokou asked impatiently.

"I haven't even said anything." Abel replied.

"You don't look upset anymore." Mokou noted.

Abel nodded, sighing in resignation.

"She killed Lara, and yet I can't stop thinking about how much I've hurt her. Did Lara really mean so little to me?" Abel pondered.

"Of course not, but you know that she's a good per- um, bird." Mokou said.

"Call her a person."

"Anyways, you can't bring yourself to hate her because you know she's not evil. Well, that and you love her, but that's more irrational."

"It still feels… off. I wonder if it were anyone else in my place, would they resent her with all of their being for doing such a thing? I only needed a quarter of the night before I finally decided to move on, so am I strange for doing that?"

"Yeah, you're strange. So are you going to go back to your girlfriend? I already promised her you would reconcile with her, and I don't want to be made a liar."

"You seem to be handling this situation rather well."

"Good people do bad things. I don't bother getting upset unless I've been wronged by someone with malicious intent."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but-"

"You didn't strike me as the type to say stuff like that? You shouldn't underestimate the wisdom people gain over time."

"…So how old-"

"Never ask a woman's age."

"-is Gensokyo?"

"I'll seriously kill you."

"Sorry, I wanted to make a joke. It feels like I'm being crushed under the weight of… everything that's been happening."

Mokou studied the face of Abel, his brow furrowing as though he were trying to solve a riddle. She sighed and patted him on the shoulder.

"Just go to her. You're the entire reason she's like this right now, so that has to mean something."

Abel nodded slightly. He wasn't happy that Mystia didn't tell him the truth, but he knew he would have done the same thing if he were in her shoes. The only thing left to do was talk to her, and if they couldn't be together after that, then it would be just the way it goes.

"We must seem incredibly childish to someone like you." Abel said.

"Everyone seems that way to me." Mokou said with a small smile.

Abel said his farewell to Mokou and followed his internal compass, moving towards Mystia's home.

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>Date: Season 127, 6<em>_th__ of Leaf Month (August)_**

"Hey Sachi."

Sachi turned to Reid, her long, dark blue hair swishing with the motion as she started walking backwards.

"Mmm?" She hummed.

"How can you be so calm in this situation?" Reid sighed.

"Do I have anything to gain from panicking?"

"Well, no, I guess not, but-"

"The fact I'm not bothered by it at all is confusing you, right?"

Reid nodded as Sachi turned her back to him, walking forward and looking at the starry sky.

"People die, Yōkai die, even gods can die. Thinking about it that way, I just can't get upset when someone dies." Sachi explained.

"B-but didn't you like-" Reid started before Sachi pressed a finger to his lips.

"Will it comfort you if I start crying? Is making people upset a secret pleasure of yours?" Sachi peered into his eyes while she tilted her head.

She took her finger off his lips, leaving him speechless as she continued walking.

"I'm not heartless, I just hate anger, sorrow… regret… Surely you know why already?" Sachi asked, referring to her past, to which Reid nodded. She gave a big, wide smile at the motion.

"It's much better to be happy and carefree. Nothing bad can happen when you're like this." Sachi said, stretching her arms out so as to show herself to the world.

Reid was looked down at the ground while he tried keeping up with Sachi; he pondered what he could say in argument, as her view of things felt wrong to him. As he was, they heard a scream in the distance, causing both him and Sachi to react.

Reid stopped dead in his tracks, but Sachi was already taking off towards the scream the moment it happened. He took another five seconds, awed by Sachi's immediate movement, then followed suit as best as he could.

He lost sight of her easily, but he still knew which direction the scream came from. He had run for four minutes before finally reaching a clearing with Sachi kneeling down on the ground. He walked up to her, then his eyes widened as he saw what she was looking at; blood, a trial moving from the spot back into the forest.

"Hey, go and get the others, minus Abel's buddy brigade." Sachi said, a bored look on her face.

"Wha- 'buddy brigade'?" Reid asked in bewilderment.

"Abel, Mystia and Mokou. We don't need to bother them for this, since-" Sachi said, lifting her hand up, completely covered with blood, "-there's no more life to be saved here."*

* * *

><p>Mystia looked up at the ceiling of her home, wooden and still. She didn't close her eyes, since she only saw the images of her victims flash through; their final moments before death, the names they choked out with their dying breath, the desperate actions they took to live…<p>

"_That's why it's so important not to look for forgiveness from others, but to use your time in a way that you can forgive yourself"_

Mystia ran Mokou's words through her head once more, wondering just how long it took for her to finally forgive herself. Right now, she couldn't even imagine. She couldn't even begin to think about tomorrow, much less the rest of her life with so much happening in a single night.

"Abel… even if forgiving myself is the most important part; I want your forgiveness as well…" Mystia spoke aloud, wanting the words to reach Abel.

But it was impossible for him to hear her words now.

* * *

><p>*Sachi is implying there is too much blood for the person to be alive.<p>

_**Author note**_

Profile is updated with upcoming projects for those interested. Also, expect the word amount to vary for this series.

From the very beginning, this was meant to be a "Mini-series" type of thing, with short bite-sized chapters. I like it more this way, since it gives a more tense feeling of what will happen next.

That isn't to say all chapters will be like this, as I like some scenes to be drawn out (9th/10th chapter).

Until next time.


	15. (C)Side 2: Bathing

Sachi was following whatever Yōkai was recently there; paying attention to the drops of blood on the ground and foliage, the snapped twigs and trampled leaves, she made her way deeper into the forest. Careful with her steps, but moving quickly, she didn't want to lose the Yōkai.

Sachi had told Reid to tell the others about what had happened, as well as to look for any recent disappearances in the village. She had run off before Reid could complain, ignoring the possible danger that lay ahead for her. She wasn't going to do anything risky though; she only wanted to see if she can trace the Yōkai back to where they lived.

She heard a noise up ahead as she came to a halt, hiding behind a tree. She held her breath in then slowly let it out, taking quiet but deep breaths to recover from her haste. Whatever was making the noise, it was coming closer towards her. She tried to peek around the tree, upon realizing that the Yōkai she was after wouldn't just turn around. When she did, however, she got a shock from what she saw.

Covered in blood and using the trees to support his weight, Abel was making his way through the forest. Sachi immediately ran to him, his face unsurprised at her presence.

"Are you okay?" Sachi asked.

"Yeah, this blood isn't mine." Abel said, pulling on his collar to show that his body had no injuries where the blood was.

"What happened?"

"I thought I heard a scream so I ran towards it when this thing came out of nowhere and knocked me out. I was like this when I came to."

_Maybe the blood got on him when he was knocked out by the Yōkai?_ Sachi thought.

"Now it's your turn. What's going on?" Abel asked.

"Same story, only I've been chasing after the Yōkai who attacked the person who screamed. I came across you about twenty minutes after the scream."

"Ouch. If I've been out for twenty, then no wonder my head hurts so much…" Abel rubbed the back of his head.

"…Wait a minute, what were you doing so far out here?"

"I was visiting Mokou house… trying to sort out myself." Abel looked down on the ground bitterly, remembering what was going on before the scream.

"…Do you need help walking out of the forest?" Sachi asked, sympathetic to Abel's current situation.

"No, I only have a headache. I'll be fine enough to find my way out."

"Don't act tough."

"…Is it even alright to leave the Yōkai alone?"

"This is important too. I can't just leave you alone if you're hurt. Besides, I doubt I'll be able to catch up to him now."

Abel sighed and reluctantly nodded his head, accepting Sachi's help as she put his left arm over her shoulders. She was about to walk off towards the clearing before Abel stopped her and pointed in another direction.

"Take me over there… please Sachi."

Sachi already knew where he was pointing, even though she never went in that direction before. If he already visited Mokou's home and didn't want to head towards the village, then there was only one place he could be looking to go.

"Are you sure?" Sachi asked.

"I am."

* * *

><p>Mystia practically leapt out of her bed when she heard the knock at the door, but when she was about to open the door, she paused. Why was she so excited? Is she hoping that it's Abel, and that he had come to forgive her? She couldn't understand why she would be so expectant, especially after what she had done.<p>

Pausing no more, she slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door to find her suspicions about who lay beyond correct; Abel was there, although the fact that his clothes were bloody and he was being supported by Sachi was something she didn't foresee.

"A-Abel!?" Mystia immediately checked him for any injuries, ignoring whatever feelings she may have had before.

"I'm fine, it's not my blood." Abel said.

"I told him we should have done something about his shirt, but he was insistent on seeing you." Sachi said, seemingly exasperated.

Mystia let relief flood her face as she hugged Abel, disregarding the fact he was dirty and possibly hated her.

"I'm so glad…" Mystia mumbled, her voice clamming up.

"M-Mystia…" Abel also disregarded his state and hugged Mystia back. Sachi, no longer supporting Abel's weight, started to leave.

"Well, I'll just be going now." Sachi said quietly, neither Abel nor Mystia hearing her as they were lost in their own little world.

After another moment of silence, Abel spoke up. "You're probably all dirty now."

Mystia parted for a second to see that Abel was right; her dress was covered in blood.

"…What happened?" Mystia asked, finally wondering why he was covered in blood.

"…I'll tell you later. For now, why don't we clean ourselves in the lake?" Abel suggested, seemingly indifferent to the nights earlier events.

"S-sure." Mystia answered, a little taken aback by Abel's calm demeanor. As they walked around the house, her cheeks flushed when she realized he meant they would bathe together. "A-Abel-" Mystia started.

"I don't want to think about- well, anything, really. Our problems will remain, but there's no law that says we can't forget about them for a while, right?" Abel interrupted, misunderstanding Mystia's unfinished complaint.

Mystia was about to explain he was misunderstanding, but she dropped the topic. She was just glad that he was still willing to be with her after what had happened, even if she was panicking on the inside for what was about to happen.

_T-there's no way Abel actually meant we would bathe together though…_ Mystia thought.

"Hmm, why did you stop?" Abel asked, puzzled why Mystia wasn't following him. They were on the lake's shore now.

…_B-but surely we're keeping our clothes on so we can wash the blood off as well…_ Mystia's thought's trailed off as Abel began stripping in front of her.

Instinctively, Mystia covered her face with her hands while she blushed hard. This effort to avoid looking at Abel was all for naught, however, since she kept peeking through the space in-between her fingers.

"A-A-Abel!?" Mystia stuttered out, her gaze on Abel's bare rear.

"What?" The lack of modesty in Abel's voice was apparent as well.

"W-why are you naked!?"

"I can't bathe otherwise, can I?"

"B-but you're in front of me!"

Abel gave Mystia a thoughtful look, then his expression turned into one of realization.

"You really are a virgin?" He asked, shocked.

"Wha- _**Of course I am, you idiot!**_" Mystia yelled.

"But yesterday-"

"_**I was just really horny~!**_" Mystia blurted out.

"…Huh?"

Mystia's face turned even redder, her embarrassment reaching new heights. That's when a thought occurred to her; would she have been bothered by this yesterday?

"W-w… Time out for a moment!" Mystia made a sign with her hands while she turned around. She took a couple deep breaths, then thought about yesterday and everything she did with Abel. She wanted to summon up that mood she was in previously, so that she wouldn't waste this chance.

After what seemed like a minute of silence, Abel sighed and bent down to pick up his clothes, but he stopped when he saw Mystia turn around. She walked slowly towards him with rosy cheeks as she lifted her dress over and off her head. Now it was Abel's turn to blush, as the way Mystia looked at him was the same way she had done last morning, with lust.

"M-Mystia?" Abel asked, her sudden change in character confusing him.

Mystia didn't answer as she took off the rest of her clothes, much to Abel's silent delight, and positioned herself behind Abel, pressing her body along his bare back.

"Your fault." Mystia said, pushing Abel towards the water.

"What is?" Abel asked, noticing the sensation of two small bumps pressing into his skin.

"For making me remember yesterday."

They didn't say another word as they entered the water. When they had found a place to sit in the shallow edges of the lake, Mystia started washing Abel's back with the water. They both knew that the lake had certain minerals that cleansed the skin, making it perfect for bathing.

Abel kept quiet as Mystia continued washing him, taking her time on purpose as she traced her fingers along his skin. Mystia noticed that he felt sturdier than she had originally thought, even if she could still hurt him like it was nothing, being a Yōkai. Still, in human terms, his skin was tough. He wasn't too muscular though… in other words, he was like a punching bag. Mystia giggled a little too loudly as she thought of this, Abel becoming confused.

"What's so funny?" Abel asked.

"It's nothing, you're just sturdier than I thought." Mystia smiled.

"R-really?" Abel blushed as he kept his head down.

"Really."

"…I was worried about how my body looked without clothes on."

"Yet you stripped in front of me without hesitation."

"Well I've been doing exercises since we've started dating… so maybe I gained a little confidence."

"Silly, you would still be cute if you were a little chubby."

Abel frowned. "I don't want to be cute, I want to be sexy."

"Did you really just say that with a straight face?" Mystia laughed.

"I'm serious, I want to make you-" Abel cut off suddenly as his face became crimson.

"Make me…what?" Mystia prodded, sliding her fingers along Abel's chest.

"…Make you all hot and bothered." Abel's breath contained a bit of heat as he spoke the words.

Mystia gave a mischievous smile as she licked Abel's ear in response, eliciting a involuntary moan from his mouth.

"H-hey!" Abel complained half-heartedly.

"Guys can moan too? I'm surprised." Mystia said.

"That wasn't a moan, it was a gasp of surprise."

Mystia licked Abel's other ear and another moan could be heard.

"Sure sounded like a moan to me." Mystia teased.

"M-maybe you should t-try it again? T-to make sure." The strain in Abel's voice was obvious.

Playing along, Mystia licked his ear again, continuously this time. She could feel his body stiffen in her arms as he gasped in pleasure, perhaps holding back his moans since he was conscious of it. She kept at it for a minute before stopping with a victorious expression, as he let out some moans near the point she stopped despite his best efforts.

"Like I said… you're cute~" Mystia whispered into Abel's recently licked ear.

In that next moment, Abel turned around and pulled Mystia into a kiss. He could feel the surprise in her momentarily hesitant lips, but they quickly pressed back towards his. Both could swear they could hear the other's heartbeats as they became close in their embrace, and Mystia _definitely_ felt something hard pressing along her lower region. As they parted, it was Abel's turn to look victorious, as he faced Mystia's pleading face, wanting a deeper kiss… or perhaps something more than that.

"You can only tease a guy for so long." Abel warned, all too late as he gave her a deeper kiss.


	16. Love's Intermission 1

_Please wait warmly as lewd is preparing..._

* * *

><p>Mystia was a Yokai who was heavily influenced by her instincts; eating the humans had been one of them, but she's since found that feeling dissapear in light of her relationship with Abel. Now that hunger had been replaced with a different sort; an instinct that dominated her entire being as it left no more rational thought. It was a passionate feeling that sent electricity along her nerves and made her feel hot and wet.<p>

It was the sex-drive.

Her need to feel her partners stiffness inside of her left her brain jumbled up, making her forget they were in the lake. She must have had some semblance of where they were, however, otherwise she would have pushed Abel down into the lake in an attempt to press her tongue further into their kiss. Mystia's hands moved slowly, but firmly, tracing out Abel's body as they slowly moved down towards his manhood. She felt it out along her fingers; already hard and erect, maybe even more so when she touched it. There was no subtlety in Abel's actions tonight; he wanted to be one with her.

Mystia moved her hips towards Abel's erection, trying to position herself to take him inside. Much to her delight, she felt the tip at her entrance on the first try, as though they were seeking each other out. A shudder along the spine and a soft sigh mid-kiss, Mystia stalled as she appreciated the feeling of a man's cock along her pussy. She didn't stall for too long though, being a Yokai driven by nature, and lowered herself onto Abel fast.

A pained cry could be heard from Mystia as Abel broke off the kiss, worry immediately spreading across his face as he realized he should have stopped her from acting too hastily, as well as guilt for being swept up in his lust. Mystia shook her head before Abel could ask if she was ok, however.

"Fuck me so hard that I can't think about the pain." Mystia spoke in a sweet, strained voice, her grey eyes shimmering with a fire that Abel had never seen before. All Mystia had on her mind was sex; raw, intense, amazing sex, and she didn't want want Abel to hold back. Luckily for her, Abel's cock became even harder when she spoke those words; he was taken by the seduction of her words. He hadn't started thrusting yet, however, and started moving thier bodies slowly towards the beach while they were connected. "No, do it now!" Mystia complained loudly before being silenced by Abel's sharp gaze.

"Do you want to be fucked hard or not?" He spoke the words without hesitation and Mystia held her breath. Maybe it was how hot her body was feeling, but Abel's voice sounded more manly in that moment than any other time they had been together. When Abel had finally managed to wade thier bodies to the sandy shore, he positioned Mystia's back on the sand and lifted up her legs. Mystia's mouth twitched as she felt his manhood rub ever so slightly along her inner walls when he was positioning them.

Without another pause, Abel began thrusting into Mystia hard. Mystia gasped as the tip of his cock reached her depths in the first stroke, surprised at how big and hard he was, then she yelped during the second stroke; this time she was surprised by how fast it came after the first one. From the third stroke onwards, her mouth was making obscene sounds rivaling the act happening between her legs. With her hips elevated up into the air thanks to Abel lifting up her legs, there was no way of her escaping the unrelenting assault inside her; not that she wanted to escape, of course. The pain she had was numbed from the dizzying situation; Abel, naive and silly Abel, was fucking her as hard as he could.

To reemphasize, it was not making love; it was fucking in the truest form. There was no thoughts of the consequences, nor of the world around them; they just lost themselves in this moment separated from their current realty. This did not make the act any less enjoyable for either of them, however, as their dripping sex organs had shown.

"Ahbel, ahbel~!" Mystia's cloudy eyes rolled back into her head, a sign of her approaching climax. Her pain was gone now, replaced with an overwhelming feeling of something overpowering, yet vague as to whether it were pleasure or not; her mind went blank from it, so she assumed it must have been pleasure. Abel, not experiancing any such pain during the intercourse, was completely gone in his mindless ecstasy of feeling his first woman; He didn't even hear Mystia's cries as he continued pounding into her. The air was soon filled with the scent of their sweat and sex, raising their hormones to a boiling point as they finally reached their peak. Everything became white for Mystia as she squealed from the discharge; both hers and Abel's. Abel's pace finally relented by a bit when he unloaded, but he thrust a coupled more shallow thrusts before remaining still to catch his breath. When he stared down at Mystia, her livid body rising and lowering from her heavy breathing, he finally began to realize what he had just done. It wasn't the act of sex he regretted; it was incredible. It was the fact that he came inside of his lover that he was worried about. He looked down at where they were joined-a mixture of the other's juices dripping out-and he began to pull out before Mystia grabbed his hand.

"No... let's stay like this... for a while." She spoke in between her long breaths.

"...Okay." Abel quietly responded.

He still had Mystia's legs up, and he soon realized he could no longer hold them, let alone stay upright himself; he had used up all of his energy. He put down the legs and flopped onto Mystia's recovering body.

"Ow." Mystia complained.

"Sorry." Abel apologized.

The two had moved onto their sides while they were connected, doing it without consulting the other as though they knew what they were thinking. Mystia gave a content smile as she stared at Abel's face.

"You really filled me up." She murmured happily.

"Ah..." Abel was about to apologize, but he couldn't bring himself to do it when he saw how happy Mystia was.

"You were really big too... such a nice cock."

"Are you... alright?" Abel looked at Mystia with slight concern, as she spoke in a manner he didn't expect from her, but she just giggled softly.

"Yuuuuuup~"

"You look like you're drunk..."

"Hehe, I'm drunk on Abel~"

Abel's cheeks were completely red at the embarrassing things Mystia was saying and she took notice, kissing him on the cheek impishly as she wrapped her arms around him.

"You're so dishonest, acting bashfully like that after what you just did to me." Mystia said teasingly.

"W-well it just felt so good that I- NO, I mean you asked me to-...Ugh." Abel averted his gave dejectedly, a victorious smile across Mystia's face.

"It's alright. I already knew that all men were beasts." "Shut-up and pass out from exhaustion already."

"Wow, so forceful."

"No, it's just that my eyes..." Abel trailed off as his eyelids closed shut, his breathing becoming steady. Mystia's eyelids drooped when she was reminded of just how tired she was, the only thing keeping her awake being the appeal of talking with Abel. With that reason gone, sleep took her away.

* * *

><p>It was still dark out when Abel stirred, his vision resting on his lover's gentle sleeping face. He stared for a few minutes, admiring her beauty in the silent night.<p>

_"...I...Before I met you... I..."_

Mystia had eaten humans. This beautiful, fragile looking creature had killed people from his village and someone irreplaceable to him. Her soft visage of a young girl, pretty pink hair and modest figure with soft pale skin... He could picture the blood spread along her, the chunks of her victims in her hands like she had been taking a cookie from a jar. A twisted, dark reality, and he could think about it without being disturbed.

He knew that he couldn't pretend it never happened, because that would have been disrespectful to those who died. If he was going to be with her from now on, he would need to accept that he loved her despite all of that, and didn't care she had killed before she met him. This was disrespectful as well, but not acknowledging it would have been the worst insult towards the dead.

"...Whatever, I'm going to hell anyways." Abel muttered quietly.

A slight breeze reminded him that the only warmth around was how close he was Mystia, and his body shivered. He pulled himself out of her and took her gently into his arms, walking towards her home in the woods.


	17. (B)Side 2: Best Friends

In the darkened room, Mystia's eyes fluttered open as she became aware of her surroundings. She instantly reconized the room as her own and pulled the blankets closer to her before hitting a snag. When she turned her head to see what the blankets had gotten caught on, she saw Abel resting beside her and remembered what they had done at the start of the new day. After remembering that, her cheeks flushed red and she gently laid back down into bed, careful not to stir her lover from his slumber. Looking at the curtains, she could see a small line of light tracing the outline; it was normally positioned so that no light made it's way into the bedroom, but that wasn't the case right now. She could only assume that the curtains had been moved at some time and she had forgotten when. Regardless, she now knew that it was light out and that it would have been wise for her to sleep.

Still, she found that sleep was surprisingly diffcult for her at this time, despite the long night she just went through. Her mind thought back to Yuto's sudden death, and her confession admist her despair; it was no longer a secret that she was behind the deaths that caused the search party to come into existance in the first place. Sachi, Ried, Naoto and Mokou were there along with Abel for her breakdown. She didn't worry about Abel and Mokou, but the others had nothing stopping them from telling the village what they had learned that night.

This thought made Mystia restless; if worst came to worst, she might be forced to leave Abel. If the village came after her, she knew Abel would try to defend her, but that isn't what she wanted; Abel would no longer have a place in the human village if that happened.

She felt like laughing at herself. She had just shared a precious moment with Abel, one of the happiest moments in her life, and she couldn't help but think about all the bad things to come.

She looked at Abel's face for another second before silently slipping out of the bed. She then grabbed a change of clothes and proceeded to dress herself in the living room before leaving for the human village.

If the worst had already happened, then she was going to act before Abel did anything he would regret.

* * *

><p>Mystia got a few looks from the villagers as she entered, but more of curiousity than anything else. If they knew the truth, then they certainly weren't letting on anything.<p>

"Oh? This is an odd sight."

Mystia's attention focused on the owner of the voice; Sachi had just come out of a building near her and saw her almost instantly before walking up. Being one of the people who knew the truth, Mystia couldn't find her voice in front of her presence. Sachi seemed to notice this and gave a smile; for what reason, Mystia did not know.

"Ah, are you here to thank me for last night?" Sachi asked casually.

"Huh?" Mystia responded.

"You know, for helping your boyfriend out."

"O-Oh..."

"Hmm? No? ...Ah, so you're here to find out what happened last night then?"

"..." Mystia looked at Sachi dumbfounded, caught off guard by her casual attitude despite last night.

"Hey, come here for a second." Sachi beckoned Mystia to follow her into the building she had come from. Mystia followed with slight hesitation, wondering if she was going to be cursed at the moment she entered.

Nothing unpleasant like that happened, however. Sachi led Mystia into the living room of the building (she assumed it was Sachi's house) and they sat down on the cushions surrounding the table.

"You weren't planning on confessing to the entire village, were you?" Sachi asked.

"N-no, nothing like that." Mystia said.

"Then you were worried about the village knowing about your crimes?"

"I guess that's the one."

Mystia clenched her fists in her nervousness, wondering what was going through Sachi's mind.

"We should be friends." Sachi suddenly declared.

"...Eh?"

"I said we should be friends."

"Wait, hold on." Mystia put a hand to her face as she tried to grasp the situation. "Why aren't you angry at me?"

"Did you do something to anger me?" Sachi asked, genuinely confused.

"I've eaten villagers-"

"-That had no relation to me other than being in the same town."

"...You don't care?"

"Nope."

"Even though they didn't deserve to die?"

"If I got upset over every undeserving death in Gensokyo, then my life would be a sad and pitiable one indeed."

"But that doesn't make what I did okay!"

"It doesn't change what you did either, or are you saying I can absolve you of your crimes by being hateful towards you?"

Mystia looked at Sachi with a blank expression; she didn't know what to think of the carefree villager.

"Are you saying you don't want a friend?" Sachi asked, pouting.

"That's not it, I just wasn't expecting you to be this way." Mystia stated.

"Why? You never knew me personally before."

"Yes, but even so... I guess I just expect people to hate me after what I did."

"People are not duplicates, you know? It's only natural that some people react differently to the same thing."

"...But why would you want to be my friend?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"No, but it is rather sudden."

"Well, if you must know, It's because I don't really have a friend to speak of." Sachi placed her chin in her hands and leaned on the table.

"That can't be-" Mystia started.

"It is." Sachi's voice became more stern, silencing Mystia. "Are you suggesting I'm so blind that I can't understand what my relationships with others are?"

Mystia kept quiet for a bit longer before realizing she was supposed to answer. "No, nothing like that."

"Then you're in disbelief because you think I'm a liar? It can't be disbelief from knowledge of my character, since you've demonstrated you don't know it."

Mystia was starting to get upset, but she finally understood why Sachi wanted to be friends. "Your always talking like this... is that why you don't have any friends?"

"Yes, I have always been a bit... literal, in my way of talking and thinking." Sachi tapped her head. "Something odd with my brain, I'm pretty sure. Anyways, I'm an outcast and so are you, in a way."

"And that's why you want to be friends."

"I don't think it's a bad proposal; it's not like either of us have very many options when it comes to friends in the first place and we'll have one more person we can talk to about our problems." Sachi put a finger in front of her mouth and continued in a hushed voice. "Especially ones that can't be brought up in front of, say, a lover perhaps?"

Mystia's cheeks turned red, but her expression was one of intense consideration. Sachi gave a grin, knowing it would only take one more push before she succeeded in negotiations.

"Oh, and did I forget to mention that I may have some books that interest you?" Mystia gave a questioning look at Sachi, who continued, "You do know what types of things are included in romance novels, right?"

Mystia's eyes grew wide and sparkled with excitement as she grabbed on to Sachi's hands. "Let's be friends- No, best friends!"

Sachi gave a laugh as she replied. "Best friends."

"Ah." Mystia let go of Sachi's hand as she slumped back into her cushion and fidgeted around. "H-how were you able to... buy those books without anyone finding out?"

"Hmm? I just bought them and took them home. Was there any reason for me to be secretive about it?"

* * *

><p>"Ehe...ehehehehe~" Mystia was grinning from ear to ear as she clutched the books close to her breast, Sachi giving an amused expression as she watched.<p>

"So every time you went for the books, you always ended up like this? No wonder you had such a hard time buying them." Sachi said.

"I can't help it, I just feel so excited about reading it that I just end up like this."

"Well, I hate to bring you down when you're in such a good mood, but I need to tell you about what happened last night."

Mystia's grin faded into a line as her face became attentive. "Does this have to do with Abel showing up at my house covered in blood?"

Sachi nodded. "Someone else was attacked. We never saw who it was, but a mother came to us and said her child had been missing since last night." Sachi stretched out her legs lazily as she continued. "Abel had the misfortune of running into our culprit, but he was only knocked down; the blood he was covered in was probably the victim's. After leaving Abel with you, we followed the trail of blood until we came across another body; that of a small childs. We couldn't tell if it was the same one, however, because his entire face was eaten; nothing was recognizable about him. To make matters worse, it was only the face, nothing else."

"Isn't it a good thing that the entire body wasn't eaten?"

"No it isn't; this means the Yokai knew we were following it despite being ahead of us by a good distance. Either through power or instinct, it was able to evade us and that means it can pick it's targets based on isolation, as well as stay alive. Not only that, but it still took the time to eat the face of it's victim."

"Meaning?"

"Since there were no other wounds on the body aside from some bruising, the main cause of death had to be from an injury near the face. It's a clever Yokai that wants to hide how it's victims died; Yuto's corpse was a mess, so it was impossible to determine how he died."

"Ah... The way the victim's died is a way to determine what type of Yokai killed Yuto and the child?"

"I suppose that would be something to go on, but the main point is that it has all the tools to keep getting away with this. If it decides to stay around here, theres no telling how many more will die before we finally stop it."

"...That reminds me; you said you didn't care about the villagers that died, but you're still trying to help the village. Why?"

Sachi grimaced and Mystia immediately felt regretful for asking the question.

"I suppose it's partly my fault for not making it clear." Sachi sighed. "I was helping out because I didn't want a certain person to die."

"Oh..."

"But it's different now." Sachi's statement made Mystia look at her with confusion. "Now that Yutos dead... I'm doing it for revenge."


	18. (SG)Person 1: Haru

"Hmm"

A short, but loud yawn collided with the noise of the bustle outside; the owner of it a young woman with short, light brown hair. She stretched her arms out, hitting the wall since her futon was close to it, and retracted them in pain.

"Fucking... wall."

The young woman sighed, realizing just how pointless her insult was to the building. She was too tired, she thought, to be thinking properly. Looking at her window, covered by a dark curtain, the faded light emanating from it told her it was still a good ways until night. Knowing this fact, she sighed even deeper.

This woman's name was Haru, one of the villagers tasked with investigating the disappearances at night. She was in a group different from the one Abel was in, despite their common goal to find the Youkai responsible for the killings. Abel's group consisted of Mystia, Sachi, Ried and Kenchi; the recently deceased Yuto was also one of their group until recently. Haru's group was composed of herself, Mokou, Naoto, Taro, Yuzu and Jin; thankfully, they hadn't had the misfortune of losing one of their own.

Haru tried closing her eyes again, but despite her fatigue, she just couldn't seem to keep them closed. Frustrated, she hit the wall again, this time purposefully.

"Fucking wall."

Before they started their nightly routine last night, Naoto and Mokou had visited Yuto's home; for the purpose of conversing or something else, Haru did not know, but that's when the night broke the previous pattern of peace. When Naoto and Mokou were late for the meetup, the remainder of Haru's group knew something had happened. What followed after that was complete disarray; shock and anger spread throughout her group as Naoto came running to tell them the news of Yuto's death. To make matters worse, he decided to let the group know something that would make it harder to act rationally, especially with the news he had just presented them with.

_"Abel's bitch killed the villagers up to this point!"_

Naoto declared that after making it clear that Yuto was killed by a different Yokai. Haru wanted to scream at Mystia, but she also had an equal desire to scream at Naoto for being an idiot; he handled the situation with complete disregard for how the group would take it. On top of that fact, Haru later learned that night that Mokou had asked Naoto to keep quiet about it.

Haru thought she knew her breaking point, thought that she already knew the feeling of being completely enraged; she was wrong. She felt hatred towards Mystia for killing her friend, she felt hatred towards Naoto for being insensitive and impulsive, and she felt hatred toward Mokou for trying to hide the truth. She recalled marching straight to Mokou's house (which was made knowledge to the group for the sake of the investigation) and flailing herself at Mokou, since she could take the brunt of her rage and still live. Even so, after attempting to bash Mokou's head in with a rock she picked up from outside for the third time, even Taro thought she was going overboard and stopped her from continuing.

"That was the first time I've seen someone's brains splatter all over... the..."

Haru jumped up and ran for the kitchen, grabbing a pot and barfing into it. The image of what she had done to Mokou that night was seared in her memory, vividly repeating again and again. She fell to her knees and the pot slipped from her hand, spilling the contents onto the floor.

"Fuck!"

She sat down and kicked the pot against the wall before tightly holding her knees close to her body; her fingers digging into the side of her soft flesh as the feeling of nausea returned. She bit her lip with such force that she drew blood, and let her body topple onto it's side, despite her nausea and the pain it caused when she hit the floor.

"I... am not okay."

She whimpered the words out, her aggressive and bellowing voice dying out as the choking sound of sobs began to fill the room. There was no way how she acted was healthy, or even sane for that manner; it was clear to anyone that she was broken inside, even herself.

She was conflicted and tearing herself up on the inside. She wished her friend was there for her like she usually was, to cheer her up and help her through this, but she was gone, taken away by Mystia. If it wasn't Mystia, then she would've had no trouble bashing her head in like she did Mokou, but there was one thing keeping her from doing that. Ironically, it was also her dead friend that was the reason for restraining herself; Abel was happy with Mystia and there was no way her dead friend wanted Abel to be unhappy.

"Just what the fuck am I supposed to do... Lara?"


	19. (FG)Person 1: Kenchi

The steady knocking of a fist against at door echoed throughout the home of Kenchi; one of the villagers assigned to the task of finding the Youkai. He stirred from his rest and got up slowly, but not lazily, as he felt like he rested well that mourning. He was bothered by Yuto's death, but even his grief wasn't enough to keep him awake; he was only human, after all.

He approached the door and opened it to see that his visitor was Abel, looking better off than him, he guessed.

"Hey, get a good night's sleep?" Abel asked.

"It wasn't even night, but I did indeed get to sleep well." Kenchi replied.

"That's good... can I come in?"

"Sure."

Despite his good reputation, there was a part of Abel that Kenchi couldn't stand; the fact that he visited Youkai or people with powers rather than normal humans. Abel was from the outside world and was fascinated by abnormal things, or so Kenchi thought, which was why it was such a rare occurrence to see him visit a normal human; knowing this fact, Kenchi wouldn't simply decline his intrusion, since he must have come for an important reason.

He led Abel to the dining room table where they sat down. Abel looked around the room, seeing the wooden walls and small trinkets scattered throughout and gave a look of interest.

"I've never been in your home before." Abel stated

"I've never been in yours either." Kenchi replied.

"Fair enough."

Abel gave a small chuckle before continuing.

"I don't exactly know what happened last night after I left, so I'm trying to get a clear picture before we start tonight."

"Hmm? Couldn't you have asked Sachi?"

"I would've but it appears she's out at the moment; doing what, I have no idea."

"And Ried?"

"Your house was closest after Sachi's, so I thought I'd ask you first."

Kenchi scratched his chin. "Hmm."

"You look like an old man when you do that, you know?"

Kenchi gave a less-than-friendly stare at Abel. "Polite as always. I arrived late so I'm not sure if I'm missing anything, but we followed the blood trial to a body of a young boy. His face was... unrecognizable, and there was nothing that indicated what killed him."

"Unrecognizable? Beating around the topic won't make it any less true, you know."

"Eaten. His face was eaten."

"See, was that so hard?"

"You got what you came for, now get out." Kenchi stood up, as if to show Abel the way out.

"I've always wondered this, but why are you always so hostile towards me?" Abel asked, not moving an inch.

"Because you don't really give a damn about the village, do you?"

Abel remained silent under Kenchi's accusation, studying the face of the black-haired teen. After a few short moments of this, he gave a grin to Kenchi.

"Well now... I never expected someone to call me out on it."

Kenchi grabbed Abel's collar and pulled him up to his face. "You-!"

"Don't get me wrong; I may be self-centered, something which I hide from everyone, but that doesn't mean I'll let the killings continue." Abel brushed off Kenchi's grip as he continued. "Mystia's suffering from all of this too; surely you'll believe me when I say that I'll help for her sake."

"She's suffering?"

Abel looked at Kenchi's face, pondering whether he should say something, before sighing in resignation. "You've proven yourself a good judge of character since you've figured me out, so do you know why she would feel guilt for the most recent death if she didn't cause it?"

"...I've had my suspicions, but she began the killings, didn't she?"

"Correct; that being said, she stopped the moment I became her boyfriend and is trying to overcome the guilt from her deeds." Abel spoke much more coldly than before, the usual cheery demeanor and happy-go-lucky attitude exposed as a facade.

"...Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because, despite popular belief, I actually do like you; you're probably the only person next to Akyu that has a grasp of everything that happens around them. Besides that... you actually liked Mystia too, didn't you?"

Kenchi stared blankly at Abel for a moment, wondering what kind of twisted logic he used to come up with that conclusion. Abel gave a knowing smile in the next moment.

"A joke. Call it intuition, but I don't think you'll go after Mystia."

"Nothing's stopping me from doing that."

"You don't strike me as the type to go after someone that's not a threat."

"...Does Mystia know? About who you really are, I mean."

Abel's expression darkened a little bit before softening up into the fake demeanor he usually had.

"Well... I think she might have an idea; I mean, why would I forgive her in a single night for what she did to Lara unless I was selfish? ...Then again, even if she didn't have an idea... I dunno."

"You're scared of what she'll think."

Abel's expression changed once again to that dark demeanor, but it stayed around for a longer time. This was Abel's true face; a selfish man who only cared about himself and what others thought about him. ...No, there was actually only one person's opinion who mattered when it came to how they viewed him, and that was Mystia.

"It's funny, I tried so hard to be 'the good guy' so I could have a place in society, as well as opportunities to get close to those who interested me, yet that same lie is tearing me apart when I'm with her... At least I know shes the one."

Kenchi believed that Abel was telling the truth, perhaps for the first time in his presence. He had no doubt in his mind that he could now trust the human from the outside world, if only a little.

"On another topic..." Abel started, scratching his chin in a similar way to what Kenchi did earlier, "...do you know where Mystia is? She wasn't at home when I woke up."

Kenchi gave a grin and said, "You look like an old man when you do that, you know?"


	20. (B)Side 3: Fallout

"Come on, let me see it!"

"No, it's too embarrassing!"

Both Mystia and Sachi had fallen asleep at some point during their conversation earlier that day. When they woke up and saw the sun setting, Sachi had jumped up and dragged Mystia to this clothing store before it had closed, since they were one of the few stores that were only open during the day. Sachi had managed to convince the owner to keep it open for a little while longer while she piled on clothes in Mystia's arms, forcing her to try them on. What Mystia was currently wearing was black lingerie that Sachi had picked out for her; her privates were visible through the design, however.

"Why would I even wear this!?" Mystia complained.

"You're asking that when you have a boyfriend?" Sachi asked, exasperated.

"What's with that tone!? I'm the one who feels exhausted with you making me dress up in different clothes!"

"This style of underwear was apparently very popular in the outside world, you know. It only makes sense that you should wear it for Abel."

Lingerie wasn't something that originally existed in Gensokyo, but with the addition of some outsiders who ended up in Gensokyo, more and more things from their culture became a part of Gensokyo. Everyone was always interested in the outside world's culture, much like the outsiders were interested in Gensokyo itself, so it wasn't uncommon to see some clothing influenced by the outside.

"R-really?" Mystia looked down at herself, still in the changing booth, and wondered how Abel would react if he saw her like this.

"Do you doubt me?" Sachi asked.

"No, but I just don't understand why Abel would be excited seeing me in this when I could just be naked instead." Mystia looked up at the mirror and turned around; the panties were tightly clinging to her ass, outlining the curves. It didn't really leave much to the imagination to begin with.

"Hmm... I'm not exactly an expert on it, but maybe it's anticipation?" Sachi suggested.

"Anticipation?"

"Yeah, something like foreplay?"

"You sound less confident than you did before..."

"I can't help it if I haven't been in a relationship before."

"Then why did you drag me here?"

"Because, you know, isn't this what friends do; go shopping for clothes together?"

"You just wanted to?"

"Mm."

Mystia looked at her reflection one more time. It was true that this sort of thing was from the outside world, so she thought that maybe it was something that outsider's got turned on by. She remembered what he was like that morning; no hesitation or lack of energy when he had sex with her. She was expecting him to be more timid, which was fine since she enjoyed the thought of teasing him, but not only did he not back off, he took the initiative. Not to mention...

"...Are all guys that big?"

"Hmm, did you say something, Mystia?"

Mystia's face was a silent whirlpool of red lust. She wondered if Abel would surprise her yet again if she showed him this.

"I said... that I'll buy this." Mystia mumbled, trying hard to hide the heat in her voice.

* * *

><p>Mystia dropped her new clothes off at her house and found that Abel wasn't there. She felt a little guilty that she left without telling him, but she was sure that he would be at the usual meetup area for the group.<p>

She left and made her way to an open clearing, the one where the child had been attacked the previous night, and found that there were already four people gathered there; Mokou, Naoto, Jin, and Ried were in a circle, and three of them were arguing rather loudly.

"None of them are coming back." Mokou stated coldly.

"And who the fuck's to blame for that, huh!?" Naoto was yelling at Mokou, who was obviously holding back from the clenched fists she made at her sides.

"You are right that they aren't coming back, but that doesn't mean that she should be left unpunished for her actions!" Jin, a young adult wearing glasses with light brown hair, yelled despite trying to remain calm himself.

As Mystia watched from afar, she knew for a fact that they were referring to her. She also knew that the fact Jin knew meant that someone had told the others what they had learned last night; probably Naoto, if she had to guess. She looked at the one person who stayed off to the side, Ried, and noticed that he was looking just as hesitant as usual, trying to avoid as much conflict as possible.

"Are you saying that we should punish every human friendly Youkai, because they once attacked and killed humans?" Mokou asked rhetorically.

"No, what I'm saying-" Jin started.

"You're damn straight!" Naoto interrupted Jin, who gave a glare in return for cutting him off.

"That's quite the declaration, Naoto, considering Yukari would be currently counted among those Youkai." Mokou stated, to which Naoto seemed to lose some color.

"Uh... well..." Naoto fumbled around, looking for words to reply with.

Naoto was one of the more... "easily excitable" villagers who didn't usually think before speaking. He was understandably upset, but he failed to recognize just how irrational he was being when he said that they should kill off those who previously killed humans.

Jin was more of the rational type.

"...What I'm saying is that Mystia killed during a time when peace is established between many different Youkai and humans. She should be punished because such acts in this age are even unforgivable in some Youkai's eyes." Jin spoke, his voice regaining the composure it previously lost.

"My opinion is that the punishment of execution should be used on those who are currently threats. Mystia is no longer such a threat, and even going so far as to helping us out-" Mokou started.

"'Us'? You aren't even human!" Naoto exclaimed.

In his embarrassment, Naoto was searching for anything to make him 'win' the argument. The brilliant idea he settled on was pointing out that Mokou wasn't human, therefore, she had no right to refer to herself as one of them.

"Are you really trying to start a fight with an immortal who could crush you easily?" Jin asked, seemingly dumbfounded at Naoto's lack of respect.

"I didn't know there were people in this day and age who wished for death." Mokou stated, showing mock surprise.

Naoto backed off, realizing that her words were still a threat even if her body language wasn't.

"Good, now stay quiet and let the adults talk." Jin spoke to Naoto before turing his attention back to Mokou. "You're claiming that Mystia isn't a threat because she is Abel's girlfriend now, correct?"

"That's right."

"Then why did Yuto and that child die? Surely you have proof she wasn't the one who killed them?"

"Abel was with Mystia the entire day yesterday."

"That doesn't mean much if they were sleeping; Mystia could have easily slipped out of the house then came back as if it were nothing."

Mokou bit her lip in frustration as she gave Jin a cold glare. Mystia understood that there wasn't anything that proved she wasn't behind the killings again, but Mokou also knew that. Perhaps that was why she wasn't saying anything in response.

"...If Mokou keeps an eye on me, then will that prove I'm not behind it?" Mystia asked as she walked out from the trees.

The group turned to face Mystia, with everyone, except for Mokou, becoming tense at her presence. This was to be expected, with all that had happened, but Mystia didn't back off.

"Mokou doesn't need to sleep, so she'll be able to watch over me to make sure I don't do anything. Is that enough for you?" Mystia asked Jin, who remained guarded.

"...I see no problem with that." Jin said reluctantly.

"Mokou?"

"Yeah, I'll do it." Mokou nodded.

"Okay." Mystia stated.

The awkward silence that followed was understandable; the villagers were in the presence of the killer they had been searching for when they began, and yet they were expected to work with her. It would have been strange if there wasn't any animosity. Even as more of the night watch gathered to the spot, the silence continued. Every member that joined the group looked at Mystia, some with conflicted feelings, some with disgust, and the last two with encouraging expressions; Abel and Sachi.

"I ran into Sachi and she told me you were with her for the day." Abel said, breaking the silence.

"Mm." Mystia nodded.

"Have fun?"

"Don't try to pretend that everything's alright!" Naoto yelled at the two. Mokou gave a look of dis-contempt at him, but others were quick to join in Naoto's fight.

"Do you know how many villagers she's killed!?" Yuzu asked, slightly hysteric.

"She's not worth it Abel." Taro said.

"Shut-up." Abel muttered under his breath, Mystia noticing his expression becoming darker than usual.

"Abel?" Mystia asked, worried, but her voice was quickly drowned out by the rage that was starting to be voiced.

"There was only one reason we didn't tell the villagers what happened, and that was out of respect for you; we wanted you to come to terms with the mistake you made and THIS is how you act? Forgiveness!?" Naoto's voice was unbearable, even more so than usual.

"I said shut-up." Abel spoke clearer this time, but the villagers continued.

"Did all of those lives mean nothing to you!?" Yuzu screamed.

"Guys, wait a-" Ried spoke, before cowering in front of Naoto's fiery gaze.

There was a small but short silence after Ried's attempt to play peacemaker, which was promptly ruined by Naoto after he saw that Abel made no attempts to move away from Mystia.

"...You've deep kissed the same mouth that ate Lara, you disgusting freak."

The sound of something snapping could almost be heard after Naoto's provoking comment, as Abel turned around and marched right up to Naoto. Everyone circled, some prepared to hold them back as Naoto seemed ready for a fight as well, but Abel did nothing after getting in his face; he simply stood there with an expression that no one had ever seen on his face before.

"And a coward too." Naoto commented spitefully.

"...No, Naoto, you're wrong. I'm acknowledging the fact that I can't do anything predictable to you, or else everyone here will hold me back." Abel's voice was so thick with threat and hatred that even Mokou flinched when she heard it. "You should thank them, because the pain you would've received doesn't compare to the pain you're receiving now."

"Huh!? I'm not hurt, what the hells are you talking about!?" Naoto sneered before Abel extended a hand in his direction, leaving it out there in the open.

"We still need to work together, so let's shake... and no backing out, if you're a man, anyways." Abel provoked, not losing the tone he had.

_This ass wants to hurt me by grabbing my hand as hard as he can? Idiot!_ Naoto thought, extending his hand to meet the challenge.

Everyone else assumed the same thing, thinking that it was a very Abel-like thing, for him to put his anger into a "gentleman's" handshake, so to speak. If there was one person who had a notion that Abel wasn't going to let off Naoto that easy, it may have been Kenchi, who knew he wasn't as nice as everyone gave him credit for. Even so, Kenchi was a few moments too late from stopping Naoto from extending his hand. Everyone else had relaxed when they thought "well, at least no one will get hurt", and would soon come to realize the grave mistake they had just made.

The moment Naoto reached out his hand, Abel acted without hesitation, because, as he had previously stated, he couldn't do anything predictable; he needed to act before anyone realized what was going on. He grabbed the wrist of the extended hand and struck the finger's backwards with his palm, not relenting in his pressure until they made a satisfying *crack* sound that filled the sudden silence that had befallen the group. Naoto took a moment as well, getting a good look at his bent back finger's and inhaled to scream; Abel already had moved forward and grabbed the thumb, clenching it and bending it backwards all the same before the scream ever took place.

"AAAAAH, FUCKING SHIT!" Naoto always had an obnoxiously loud voice, but no one had ever heard him scream as loud as he did then.

Abel held up his hands and implied to the others that he was done, and they didn't move an inch; whether it was because they believed he truly was finished, or they were just in awe, Mystia did not know. She assumed it to be in awe, since she couldn't believe what she had seen herself.

Naoto was the only one who moved, and he quickly charged Abel, tears running down his face as his scream became a chocked sob; the others in the group finally acted, some holding Naoto back from charging Abel.

This was the second mistake they made, as Naoto had managed to reach out his other hand towards Abel amidst the swarm of people; Abel had just proven that he was much more devious than they had thought. Mystia could only gasp as she saw Abel grab the second extended hand and did the same thing to it he had done to the previous one; everyone else's attention was focused on Naoto and on preventing him from getting hurt again, ironically enough. They turned their heads around just in time to see Abel finish up breaking the thumb of the other hand.

Kenchi was the first to pull Abel away from Naoto, but he met little resistance. Still, the lack of resistance could have been another rouse, so he pulled him back as far as possible with all of his might. The screams that escaped Naoto's mouth were silenced, as he had fainted from the extreme pain he had just experienced.

"So-" Abel said non-nonchalantly as Naoto was placed gently on the ground. "-anyone want to take the night off since we're down a man? Let's go to the bar; drinks on me."

"What the fuck did you just do!?" Mokou seemed flabbergasted; not even she was expecting Abel to act so maliciously.

"Isn't it obvious? I broke all of his fingers." Abel said, showing no remorse for his actions.

A stunned silence echoed throughout the night air; those that would be upset were too shocked to say anything, as the act they just witnessed came from Abel; naive and nice Abel. Mystia was no different, her eyes completely wide as she just stared at the grin Abel was wearing on his face. Only Kenchi seemed to be unfazed by what had happened, still maintaining his grip on Abel.

"So, this is what you've decided?" Kenchi whispered to Abel.

"Yeah, I'm through pretending. I should thank Naoto though, because I might not have gathered the courage to be myself if he wasn't such a waste of human life." Abel said jokingly.

"...You might not be as selfish as I thought." Kenchi said, releasing his grip on Abel, who gave a questioning eyebrow. "You say you did it because of Naoto, but what caused it was him dis-respecting Mystia, right?"

Before Abel could answer, Mokou gave an exasperated yell that grabbed everyone's attention.

"Ahh, dammit! You guys carry Naoto to Ali and I'll take care of things here."

The villagers didn't argue, despite being too many to carry a single person, as some didn't want to be near Abel and Mystia at the moment. Only Sachi, Kenchi, and Haru looked back at the couple before leaving the forest with the others. Only a satisfied Abel, an awestruck Mystia and an irritated Mokou remained.

"Why did you do something like that!?" Mokou scolded Abel, who shrugged.

"Why? He was annoying me, was all." Abel answered in a calm voice, making Mokou doubt what she saw.

"You... are Abel, right?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You aren't acting like yourself."

Mystia, who was looking at Abel, saw him frown in reaction to Mokou's words. She would have said the exact same thing that Mokou would have said, so she was glad that it wasn't her asking the questions; she really didn't want to do anything to strain the relationship she had with Abel, especially with the difficulties they were encountering.

That didn't mean she wasn't worried about the change in Abel.

"You're wrong, you know." Abel stated.

"About what?" Mokou asked.

"I don't actually think I'm that nice of a person."

"...Is that why you did something like that, because you doubt your own character?"

"No, I did that because he deserved it."

"The others aren't going to see it that way."

"Did you stay behind to start a debate over things that can't be changed, or are you going to suggest what we should do now?"

Mokou's face scrunched up, a sign that she was getting upset at Abel. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Don't you dare get upset at me!"

The face Mokou previously made was replaced by shock from Abel's sudden outburst. Both Mokou and Mystia had flinched from the overwhelming presence he had, as though it had appeared out of nowhere; Mokou could still just as easily reduce Abel to nothing more than a pile of cinders, but she was caught off guard from Abel's unpredictability at the moment.

"I'm sorry, were you expecting me to do nothing at all after what he said? Because I'm 'nice'? Even though I'm the one who has the right to be upset for what he said, you have the audacity to lecture me without even understanding my goddamn feelings!?"

"! Abel, I'm sorry..."

Abel looked as though he had more he wanted to say, much, much more, but he took a deep breath and looked down at the ground, his fist's clenched tightly.

"No... You're right, I went too far."

Mystia looked at Abel's face intently, so she knew that he was being dishonest. It wasn't that she had anything to go on, it's just that the expression he held felt disingenuous. As she had this thought, she realized that she had seen this face on Abel many, many times, but they were never directed at her; Whenever he looked at her, his expressions always contained joy... and maybe a little bit of sadness.

"Well... I guess we can leave it at that, but you really made a mess." Mokou said in a light-hearted manner, not noticing that Abel was faking his expression. Mystia was worried, but she couldn't help but smile when she realized that only she was able to tell the expressions apart; like she was someone so close to him that it was her privilege and hers alone.

"I know, I'm sorry." Abel smiled half-halfheartedly.

"...You two should take this night off as well. I mean, it's probably best if they don't work with Mystia the night after finding out. Not only that, but I doubt they'll feel comfortable working with you after what you just did." Mokou suggested.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just leave the rest to me."

"Sorry again..."

Abel mumbled out those words, and Mystia moved beside him, grabbing his hand. Abel seemed to widen his eyes in surprise, despite the fact that it was his girlfriend doing the act. Mystia noticed this and smiled mischievously as she whispered into his ear.

"Even after what we did this morning, you're still surprised when I do something like this?"

Abel couldn't help but smile when he heard that, and this time Mystia knew he wasn't faking.


	21. Love's Intermission 2

_Please wait warmly as lewd is preparing..._

* * *

><p>"Oh... Mokou was supposed to keep an eye on us."<p>

Mystia stated as the two lover made their way back to her house. Abel's eyebrows were raised questioningly in response, and Mystia elaborated.

"Jin wanted to know where the proof was that I didn't kill Yuto, so I suggested that Mokou made sure I didn't sneak off anywhere." Mystia elaborated.

"Jin, huh..."

Mystia looked at Abel and saw his eyes flash with that same darkness she had witnessed earlier. She wondered whether she was catching a glimpse of Abel's anger, or his true face.

"Abel."

"Hm?"

"I just noticed this recently, but... whenever you're with the others, you always look like you're not happy."

"What're you talking about, I'm always-"

"Don't lie to me."

"..."

"You already know what I've done, and yet you're afraid of what I'll think of you if you open up to me? That's not fair."

A silence befell the two, only the sounds of the soft ground and the occasional branch snapping underfoot could be heard as they continued walking.

Eventually, Abel released a heavy sigh, unlike the ones Mystia had heard from him before, and started talking again.

"I'm not exactly... the greatest of people. And this isn't me just being doubtful of myself or anything like that; I genuinely don't care for most people around me. A sociopath in sheep's clothing... might be used to describe me."

"A sociopath?"

"An anti-social person who lacks conscience for his actions. Whether it was Gensokyo or the outside world, I always pretended like I was a nice guy, but I never felt anything inside. I learned from studying the people around me, watching TV, reading books, hearing people's opinions of others... and acted like the perfect person; nice and understanding, hard-working and pleasant to be around. But, that's all it was... acting."

Abel looked at Mystia, expecting her to be shocked or angry to hear what Abel was saying, but she just looked at him intently, waiting for him to finish. Surprised, but not showing it on his face, he continued.

"I just wanted to find something that made me feel something on the inside, which is why I pretended. Naturally, people seem to gather around others they think are nice, right? I was hoping that all of those opportunities I received from being with my "friends" would make me feel something on the inside. But, day after day, I didn't find joy in anything. That didn't mean I couldn't experience happiness or feel sad, but... everything around me was boring. That's around the time I accidently fell into Gensokyo, and I felt joy for the first time; something unexpected and thrilling was happening to me... but that was quickly replaced with the same feeling of emptiness once I got accustomed to life here."

Abel's eyes looked to the sky, reflecting on the seemingly far-away memories.

"Still, I didn't give up. I used my previous persona from the outside world to make friends in this one and search out that sense of joy I felt that day. I befriended Mokou, who intrigued me with her existence, but that feeling faded with time. I've talked for hours with Akyu, whose vast knowledge kept me entertained for a while, before even the feeling of new knowledge had become dull and boring... Heh, listening to me speak this out loud, I must sound like a pretentious human trying to be god. But... it's infuriating. I was jealous of everyone for being able to enjoy the simplest things and revolve their lives around it. I didn't care how many bridges I burned in the end by using my connections, I wanted to find that one thing that actually made me feel... like my life had meaning."

"So you don't care about anyone, you're just using them to find out what you want?"

At Mystia's unflinching analysis of Abel's words, he blinked for a moment, surprised again by her.

"...Yes."

"And, did you find it?"

"..."

"Did you find your joy?"

Abel laughed, thinking that Mystia really was amazing, after all. She seemed to understand him completely.

"How long have you known I was like this?"

"Oh?"

"You weren't even surprised when I told you, so surely-"

"I didn't know."

"...Huh?"

"Well, I knew you were faking your smiles for everyone else, because when you really smile... I actually feel warm inside when I see it. I guess you could say that I didn't care what you were hiding from me, because I knew you loved me regardless."

"Mystia..."

"Also, I never really liked communicating with humans either, so I guess that makes me a sociopath too! You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

As Mystia declared that, she clung onto Abel's arm, pressing it against her modest chest, and snuggled against it as they walked.

"But, I'm worried you fell in love with my act-"

"Say anymore and I'll kick you 'there'."

"Yes ma'am."

"...You were worried about it because you loved me. No matter what the issue was, the fact remained that you loved me. That's all that matters."

"I see..."

Abel walked a little more awkwardly as he tried to somehow move his body closer to Mystia's like she did to him, but he gave up after a few attempts that nearly made him trip. Mystia giggled in regards to this action.

"It's hard to believe that such a clumsy boy was able to break someone's fingers without flinching." Mystia stated.

"'Clumsy boy'?"

"Mmhm."

"I'll have you singing a different tune by the end of tonight."

"That's sexual harassment."

So Mystia said, but her eyes became downcast as her cheeks turned red. Abel took the opportunity to lower his mouth to Mystia's ear while she wasn't looking and blew into it so as to tease her a bit.

"Kya!"

"What a sweet voice you have there..." Abel muttered in a low growl.

"_A-ah,_ don't do things like that... or speak like that. You're making my head spin." Mystia complained half-heartedly.

"Do you like it?"

"Y-No."

"You don't have to hide it, lovebird."

"L-l-lovebird!?"

Mystia's voice was perhaps louder than she expected, or she was simply embarrassed at the sickingly sweet pet-name Abel came up for her, but her face was of crimson complexion. They had stopped walking at this time, just short of Mystia's house which was just a minute's worth of walking away.

"You see-" Abel started, still speaking in that low, sexy tone. "-I've held myself back sooo much, worried about what you might think about me. But, since that isn't an issue anymore, I'm going to do a ton of lewd things with your body, '_kay~_?"

He spoke the last word in the tone he usually took during his persona, a sadistic smile running across the face of Abel as he did so. Mystia was trying to think rationally, but her animalistic heat was making that very hard to do so; her mate basically just said that he was going to have sex with her many, many times.

"I-I'm not going to be pushed around so easily..." Mystia mumbled with a pout, her flushed face visible even in the night.

"'She said unconvincingly'." Abel pointed out.

"Uuu~"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you're actually a massive pervert."

"You are too!"

"So you admit it?"

"That's..."

"You're pressing your breasts against my arm."

"...That's right, I'm a pervert, but-"

"Of course, I am too."

When Abel took the words right out of Mystia's mouth, she realized she had no chance to turn the tables on him with words. That's when she remembered they were close to her house.

"Let's go." Mystia said, pulling Able along.

"Can't take it anymore?" Abel asked, continuing his teasing.

Mystia remained quiet and Abel grinned as they walked up to her house. When they entered, Mystia closed the door and felt a pair of arms wrap around her in the next instant. She also noticed something hard pressing against her butt.

"Ah..." Mystia gasped in reaction to the stimulus. She shook her head rapidly in the next moment, however and said, "Can you wait a moment?"

"Why?" Abel asked, making no attempts to hide the desire in his voice.

"Why? It's a surprise."

"A surprise?"

"Yes."

"Can it wait?"

Mystia stifled a moan as Abel's stiffness rubbed against her behind. "N-no, it can't."

"Hmm... Okay."

Abel let go of Mystia, disappointed, and Mystia almost felt the same way, despite wanting this outcome in the first place.

"Can you wait in the living room? I'll be back out in just a moment."

Abel nodded and walked over towards the living room while Mystia rushed into her bedroom. She stripped off her clothes as though her life depended on it and grabbed the lingerie she bought earlier that day. Looking at the revealing outfit, her heart raced and her face burned with shame, yet excitement.

Having already discarded her previous underwear, Mystia slipped into the panties hesitantly; not because she was considering not to wear it, but because she was trembling in lust.

Abel was right in saying that Mystia was a massive pervert, but her nature as a Yōkai was mostly to blame. If she hadn't held back, she feared she would've begged Abel to pound into her relentlessly before they even got back to her house. Her glistening wetness was a sign of this, and it remained visible even when she put on the panties.

"Haa, haa... I-I can't masturbate, not when Abel can make me feel even better..."

Mystia persuaded her aching body's mounting heat as she put on the bra. Her erect nipples felt the thin, black fabric along her sensitive skin, heightened by her arousal. She allowed a moan to escape her lips un-muffled, then shook her head in denial as she tried to keep herself together.

No! I'm the one who's going to make Abel tremble, not the other way around! Mystia thought rebelliously.

She thought that this was her best chance of turning the tables on him and his arrogant teasing; using her own body to make him submit. But every time she thought about what she would do, her mind flashed back to last morning on the shore of the lake; the way she felt when he took her virginity without hesitation.

She was the one who told him to fuck her so hard that she forgot about the pain, and he did it. Mystia always saw him as a member of the opposite gender, but, ever since that night, she's been seeing him as a man, and there was a difference between the two.

If she had told just any guy to do that, she wondered if they would act with the same conviction and understanding that Abel showed. Her conclusion was that they wouldn't; that's what made Abel more than just any guy, he was a man.

_**Her man**_.

As far as she knew, the joy Abel had found was her. That filled her with giddiness she could barely contain.

Also, _lust_.

Lots and lots of lust.

All of these overwhelming emotions and thoughts swirled around in her head with such detail that it almost felt unreal that this was only happening within herself in a span of ten seconds.

As she focused back on reality, she finally latched the strap for the bra underneath her wings; luckily doing so, considering her hands were shaking. Looking at herself in the mirror (a new one, which replaced the one she broke weeks ago), she determined that she was wearing it correctly and made her way out to where Abel was waiting.

Abel silently looked at Mystia as she came into his vision, his eyes tracing along the image that was laid before him; her short, pink hair, tasselled lightly by the wind outside contrasted the darkness of her undergarments and the room, illuminated only by a candle Abel had lit on a small stand near one of the walls. Her soft pink nipples were poking out through the laced design of her bra, visibly erect, on top of her modest mounds. Following his gaze downwards over her curved sides, he saw the panties with a similar laced design, but it was her womanhood that was visible instead; glimmering in its wetness.

Mystia shuddered under Abel ravenous gaze, barely stopping herself from leaping into his embrace. She managed to walk slowly to where Abel was sitting, however, and straddled onto his lap gently, despite the hormones that were screaming in her brain to take his manhood deep inside her.

"Surprise." Mystia said jokingly, her voice a mischievous whisper as she wrapped her arms around Abel's shoulders.

Abel responded by pulling Mystia closer towards him for a deep kiss. As they started, Mystia could feel Abel's manhood touching her need, but he was still wearing his pants. This frustrated her sexually, as it wasn't the contact she so desperately needed, despite still feeling pleasurable. She could also feel his body press against hers; her erect nipples sliding along his shirt, but no matter how pleasant it felt, it was disappointing with the clothes on.

The kiss was good... no, to a sexually driven Yōkai like Mystia, it was life itself in this moment. That's how good it felt and still she felt the need to complain to Abel for leaving his clothes on; her selfishness for more outweighing what she already had. Mystia lowered her hands and grabbed the pants, pulling them downwards, but Abel's hands grabbed onto hers before she got that far. Mystia gave a whimper, but that could've been from the fact that Abel sucked the tip of her tongue strongly in that moment, rather than out of disappointment.

Mystia's lust was strong, however, and she used her superior strength to force Abel's pants and underwear down. Just then, Abel broke off the kiss and bit his lip suddenly; his face contorted in discomfort. Mystia didn't need to look down to know what happened; she felt a snag in her efforts to pull down the pants, but assumed it was Abel's hands.

She had forgotten about the very organ she was trying to get to, large and erect beneath his pants. When she pulled with her strength, she couldn't have imagined it felt good since she pulled it the way opposite of where it was curving.

"I-I'm so sorry Abel, are you alright?!" Mystia said, panicking.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Abel grimaced.

Mystia hated herself for hurting her lover's cock; now that she was completely and utterly in heat, she was scared about whether he would be able to have sex with her. Naturally, it wasn't something that was serious enough to stop him from having sex forever, but she could see that Abel wasn't as large as before; he was still erect and big, but she's felt him inside her before. She knew it was nowhere near this 'small'.

Before seeking any sort of permission or thinking about what she was doing, Mystia got off Abel and kneeled on the floor, placing her mouth overtop of the head of Abel's cock and sucking it.

"_Ah!?_" Abel moaned, a mixture of bliss and surprise could be heard in his voice. Mystia slid her mouth even further over Abel's cock, and soon found that it was expanding quickly in her mouth despite only just starting to give fellatio to her lover.

Her tongue slid over the vein running down the centre of Abel's ever growing cock and she carefully touched the remaining shaft her mouth didn't cover with her hands. She had already hurt Abel once and she wasn't going to do it again. Gently, her fingers slid against the stretched skin and her mouth moved upwards so she could lick the frenum. As the sensation of being licked in his weak point ran through his nerves, Abel's hands clenched the cushions on the couch as he growled in content. Mystia could taste his pre-cum as it mixed in with his sweat; salty with a tinge of sweetness.

Abel had read somewhere that the taste of his discharge could be affected by what he ate. The reason his pre-cum tasted sweet was because he had added more fruits into his diet, since he wanted to be prepared for anything he might do with Mystia.

Mystia pulled away and looked at Abel's now fully erect cock, almost gasping in lustful awe. She had felt it inside her before, but seeing it was an entirely different thing; it was so thick that she was shy of encircling it with her thumb and middle finger and it reached a height higher than where Abel's belly button was located.

Mystia blinked for a couple of seconds before asking in a heated whisper, "Are you really human?"

"If I wasn't, then that would explain some things." Abel responded, a low chuckle exiting his throat.

Abel stood up and lifted Mystia so that she was bent over, leaning on the couch's railing. All thoughts of getting back at Abel for earlier were out of the head of Mystia and all she wanted was to feel Abel's impressive manhood run rampant inside her. She even stuck out her ass higher, so as to give Abel an easier time to insert himself.

Abel didn't need to be convinced; he grabbed onto the hips of Mystia and pressed his head against the frothing entrance of her heat, making sure he wouldn't miss his target, and slid all the way in at once.

Mystia screamed as her vaginal muscles contracted on Abel's meat, her entire body convulsing as her nails dug into the wooden lining of her only couch. Abel didn't need to ask to know she had just orgasmed from insertion, the flood of her juice surrounding his cock. He paused in reaction, but moved slowly soon after she had started orgasming, making her voice become delirious.

"_Ah, Ahbel, ah, Ahhbel, I just came, but you're, ahhh_!"

Abel's movements were slow, but strong; the slick noise of Mystia's wetness filled the room and made it easier for Abel to pull back and push all the way in. Every time he reached her innermost walls, Mystia felt like a violent shock run throughout her spine, up to her brain, all the way back down to her aching womanhood, squeezing down on his slick cock that wouldn't stop moving, thanks to her own juices.

Abel's hands moved from Mystia's hips in the middle of this and reached around to touch her erect nipples, running his index finger along it.

"Hau, noo, pwinch it! Pwull it! Be wugh with it!" Mystia's slurred speech was just another reminder of how far gone she was in her lust, but it turned Abel on even more, his lower member moving a bit faster as he did as Mystia asked; pinching and pulling the nipples caused her back to arch and her feet to almost give out.

Mystia's wings were spread out as well, twitching and flapping whenever Abel did something she liked. Abel seemed to notice this, and used them as an indicator for when to change things. As they gradually stopped moving, Abel pounded into Mystia's womb on the next stroke as hard and fast as he could, and they flailed about aimlessly at the same time Mystia gasped wordlessly, as though the impact knocked all the air out of her. Her voice returned in the next moment though.

"_Au, bwig, hward, cwock, Awbel, Awbel! Awbel awound me, fucking me, making me hwis, heehee, so hawpy_!"

If Abel saw Mystia's face right now- grey eyes tinted and rolled back, cheeks dyed red with obscene joy and mouth open with drool and panting tongue- he might've climaxed just from the erotic nature of her expression.

"_You're really lewd, aren't you Mystia_?" Abel asked, his voice still as low as that animalistic growl Mystia was falling in love with.

"_Yesh, yesh, I'm lewddd_!" Mystia exclaimed with a yelp as Abel gave another hard thrust.

"_I love that. No, I love everything about you_!"

"_Yu too, I luv yu tooo_!"

Abel no longer kept a slow pace, thrusting inside Mystia as fast as he could. What felt impossible to Mystia was that it felt like his cock was pounding away even harder than before, and he was already uninhibited in doing so thanks to her juices from the earlier climax. With each and every thrust into her womb, she felt a quake of pleasure erupt from deep within herself, spreading over her entire body like an earthquake. She knew she was orgasming again, but with Abel's constant, mind-blowing thrusts, she never knew if she was orgasming more than once or simply riding out the feeling.

Finally, Abel reached his limit. Mystia didn't know how long he was pounding into her, as she had lost her sense of time long ago, drowning in wave after wave of orgasmic pleasure. When he came, Abel thrust one more time, filling the entirety of her as his manhood spasmed. She felt every twitch along her vaginal walls and the semen he ejaculated gave her the feeling of being full. She grinned from ear to ear as her body twitched, the waves of pleasure dying down but her mind remaining in blank, white bliss.

There was no difference between her eyes being open or closed; she only saw white. That's why she didn't know when she had fallen asleep.


	22. (B)Side 4: Human

_**Date: Season 127, 7th of Leaf Month (August)**_

Mystia woke up in her bed as the sun started to rise, having uncharacteristically slept the night away. She felt something warm and pleasant rub along her scalp and turned to see Abel sitting down next to her, gently caressing her head before he noticed she was awake, and pulled his hand away. She grabbed the hand and put it back, giving a lazy smile.

"It's alright… it feels nice." Mystia stated.

"I thought I woke you." Abel explained, resuming his stroking of her head.

"Nope."

Abel's thumb brushed along Mystia's soft ear as he was petting her, and she snuggled up to his touch. Her already disheveled, pink hair became even messier from this, but she didn't care.

"You know, with the way you're acting right now, you're just like a pet." Abel noted.

"I wouldn't mind being Abel's pet…" Mystia mewed absentmindedly.

"Oh? You better remember those words for later."

As Abel said this, Mystia could feel him lie down with her, his hands remaining where they were, and she felt a light peck at her neck. She felt giddy inside from the intimate action, and had trouble staying where she was, despite wanting more. Abel continued his light kisses and Mystia started to feel more awake, bashful, and slightly aroused.

"Hey, at least let me spread out my wings." Mystia complained half-heartedly.

"Just a little more." Abel said, his kisses starting to get more intense as Mystia felt a soft sucking sensation on her shoulder.

"Geez, where are you kissing now…"

Mystia didn't think simply kissing her so gently, yet with such strong feelings, could make her body tingle with excitement and joy. She thought that kisses only felt good on the lips, the neck and her most precious area, but Abel had shattered her previous notion. Now he was moving down her back.

"H-how am I supposed to have any energy for today if we do it again?" Mystia asked, yet no worry was contained within her gradually sweetening voice.

"I'm just kissing." Abel stated.

Suddenly, the kisses stopped briefly. Just as Mystia was about to ask him what happened, she felt a kiss placed upon her retracted wings, and yelped as they swung out in an involuntary reaction. Abel fell on the floor, pushed off by the sudden force.

"Ah! Are you okay!?" Mystia asked, startled, as she leapt off the bed to kneel beside Abel.

"Yeah… I just wanted to try kissing you there." Abel said, showing no signs of discomfort or pain.

Still, Mystia looked guiltily at Abel, her outstretched wings drooping with her ears. Abel laughed softly at this honest expression and wrapped his arms around her.

"Ah…" Mystia sighed cutely.

"On second thought, I do feel pain in my lips. Kiss it better?"

"That was terrible."

Mystia groaned at the awfully obvious play to continue the kissing, but that didn't stop her from placing her lips on Abel's. She quietly moaned as his tongue slipped in, as though it were ready for the moment their mouths connected, and intertwined it with hers in welcome receiving. She pulled her body closer to Abel's, and he pulled her towards him in kind. Their bodily heat was being soaked in by each other, and they began to feel hotter.

However, just before they could completely lose themselves in the act, a loud knock came at the door.

"Stop making out already!"

The two broke the kiss off and stared in the direction of the front door. There was no mistaking the voice; it was Mokou's. Abel frowned at the interruption, and face Mystia again, his face serious.

"Let's ignore her." He stated with eyes that contained no trace of humor.

Mystia nodded, with the exact same expression, but Mokou's voice ran through the small home once more.

"I can hear you! Don't you dare ignore me!"

Abel clicked his tongue in annoyance, and Mystia laughed, but she did feel disappointed when Abel pulled himself away. Mystia noticed that he had held out a hand for her to take, which she did, and stood up.

"Hey Mokou, we need to get dressed, so can you wait a minute?" Abel called out towards Mokou.

"Yeah." Mokou responded.

"...Hmm, she has good ears." Mystia noted.

"No, your house's walls are just thin…" Mokou retorted from outside.

* * *

><p>After getting dressed, both Abel and Mystia went outside to meet Mokou, who had been waiting with arms crossed and a troubled expression.<p>

"So, what's the matter?" Abel asked.

Mokou had interrupted their time alone, so she had to have a good reason, at least, that's what Abel and Mystia thought.

"W-well, last night, the rest of the group wanted me to keep an eye on Mystia, rather than sort things out, so I came over and…" Mokou's voice trailed off and her cheeks became slightly flushed.

After putting together the fact that Mokou was able to clearly hear Abel and Mystia inside the house, it wasn't too hard to figure out that she heard everything that went on last night. Mystia looked down with bright red face, but Abel looked at Mokou with a serious expression.

"Did you hear what we were talking about before we had sex?" Abel asked rather bluntly.

Mystia felt as if she were going to die of embarrassment, but then her thoughts caught up to Abel's conclusion; he had confided his biggest secret with her, about his personality, and it was entirely possible the Mokou could have overheard if she had been following them. Mokou, with a flustered expression that seemed to accuse Abel of something, ignored the question altogether.

"Hey, you don't just say that out loud!" Mokou exclaimed.

"This is important Mokou; me and Mystia had a private conversation and I need to know if you overheard or not." Abel stated calmly.

Calming down upon noticing Abel's serious face, Mokou blinked a couple times, then answered, "No, I didn't hear anything."

"That's good… Sorry for being so being so straightforward. Sorry to you too, Mystia." Abel said.

"No… I understand." Mystia nodded.

Mokou eyed them up with suspicion, but decided to let it be.

"So did you only want to say that you overheard us?" Abel asked Mokou, who shook her head.

"Well… since I'm going to be keeping track of Mystia's movements so that no one would complain… I was just wondering if you guys could… hold off on doing anything?"

Both Abel and Mystia looked at Mokou with blank expressions, as if they hadn't heard her right. Mokou had lived for a very long time, even though Abel and Mystia had no idea how long, and for her to act so uncomfortably around them raised some interesting questions.

"Mokou… could it be that you've never had a lover?" This time, it was Mystia's turn to ask the blunt question.

If Mokou had ever been in love, then she would have known just how big (or impossible) of a request what she just asked was. The fact that she was easily flustered by the topic also suggested her inexperience.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Mokou dismissively waved her hand in the air.

"Then we'll keep doing what we've been doing, since anyone with a lover must know how much of an impossible request it is to ask a couple to stop. Right, Mokou?" Abel asked with the clear intent of making Mokou admit the truth.

Mokou gave in rather easily, however, and admitted it right away.

"...Fine, I've never had… someone to call my 'love'."

"That was fast. I figured you would deny it more strongly." Abel noted, surprised.

"What other choice do I have, I don't want to hear you two doing 'that' all night!"

"By 'that', do you mean sex?"

"I'll punch you if you keep that up. Anyways, don't do it!"

Abel looked at Mokou with unimpressed eyes, and Mystia simply sighed.

"This is going to be difficult…" Mystia muttered under her breath.

* * *

><p>The three walked into the village and Abel parted ways with the two women as he decided to see if anything new had happened since they left the group last night. Just as Mystia was about to protest, concerned of Abel getting into a fight with someone because of what he had done the night prior, Abel assured her that he would avoid something like that from happening.<p>

"That reminds me; why did you come into the village?" Mokou asked Mystia after Abel left them.

"Hm? Oh right… I'm going to visit Sachi." Mystia responded.

Mokou gave an 'ah' in understanding. Last night Abel had mentioned running into Sachi and hearing that Mystia had spent the day with her, so it wasn't to much of a surprise to see that Mokou didn't question any further than that. As they began walking towards Sachi's place, Mystia felt bad that she was taking up Mokou's time like this.

"Sorry… I'm the one that suggested you should watch over me like this." Mystia apologized.

Mokou put her hands behind her head and gave a careless expression in response. "It's not really that big of a deal. Besides, even without your prompting, it probably would've ended up this way regardless."

The two didn't say much after that until they reached Sachi's house and Mystia had knocked on the door, to which it slid open rather quickly, revealing a messy-haired, tired eyed Sachi. She yawned rather rudely before realizing who it was, then her face perked up.

"Oh, hello Mystia." Sachi tried straightening out her long hair with her fingers, but it didn't make it look any less messy. "Sorry, but it was a late night… well, I suppose you already know that."

Mystia looked at Sachi's hair then came to a decision. "Do you want me to help you with that?"

"Hmm? Ah, sure, sure; come on in."

Sachi gave up trying to fix her hair at the offer and gestured for both Mystia and Mokou to come in.

* * *

><p>"I need to thank you."<p>

Mystia said this after fixing Sachi's hair with a comb she had, to which she gave a quizzical look.

"Hm? But shouldn't I be the one thanking you?" Sachi asked.

"I mean for yesterday… You were right about what I bought." Mystia said, vaguely mentioning the lingerie since Mokou was there.

Sachi, catching on, made an 'ooohh' sound and gave a smile. "I take it things went well?"

"Even better than that." Mystia stated with bright red cheeks.

Mokou, being on the outside of the conversation, frowned in confusion, to which Sachi laughed at.

"Oh, since you're here-" Sachi directed her attention to Mokou. "-do you have any romantic tales to tell?"

At this question, Mokou froze while Mystia gave her a look of pity.

"N-no, none to tell." Mokou stated, embarrassed when she was reminded of her lack of experience in love.

"Aw, don't be so shy! It's only us women here, so it's a-ok to tell!" Sachi kept pushing, misunderstanding Mokou's obvious embarrassment as a sign of her recalling something 'steamy'.

"Um, Sachi…" Mystia started to speak up, but Mokou gave her a glare that said 'Don't say another word'.

Giving a cough to compose herself, Mokou then proceeded to lie. "Um… I'd rather keep these moments to myself, because they are precious moments that belong to me… and him, nobody else."

Even if she didn't have any romantic experience, Mokou definitely had experience lying before; she spoke the words with such fierce resolution, that, coupled with her red cheeks, made Sachi become giddy at the thought of who 'he' is.

"Aw, that's cute." Sachi stated, her unsuspecting grin warm.

Mystia felt bad for Mokou, who was now looking at the ground in defeat. Being reminded of just how lonely she was, along with just the idea of having someone she can share a special moment with, must've really brought her down, Mystia thought. Sachi, completely oblivious to this, stood up excitedly.

"So then, what should we do today?" Sachi asked.

Being inexperienced at having friends (both Sachi and Mystia), this question wasn't out of place.

"Oh! I have an idea…" Mystia looked at Mokou and her usual attire; overalls and a shirt.

Sachi, almost immediately catching on, nodded knowingly, all the while Mokou was starting to get a bad feeling about how in sync the two suddenly became.

"...Uh, why're you two looking at me like that?"

* * *

><p>"I've never wanted to die as badly as I do now in this moment…"<p>

Mokou muttered those words as Mystia and Sachi fawned over the frilly white dress they convinced her to wear. She clutched the hem with a fiery red they never saw in her cheeks before, embarrassed over wearing such a thing. But, without the bow in her hair and the boyish clothes, the dress fit her surprisingly well, giving a surprisingly eloquent feel to her appearance.

"You're right, the white dress fits her better than the red one on her…" Sachi commented towards Mystia, who suggested this one over the previous one which was hanging off to the side.

"Well, her hair really is pretty, so it needs a dress to match." Mystia stated.

"Yeah, and she looks gorgeous too…"

At the complements, Mokou's gaze lowered even further and her fists clenched so hard that the dress hem was threatening to tear.

"Please, no more… Have mercy." Mokou begged in a quiet, subdued voice, unlike her usual aggressive, upfront voice.

The gap between how she acted when wearing something different was astounding and, even to the two women observing her, enchanting in a way. It made Mystia wonder just why Mokou hadn't had a lover before, as she was much prettier than she originally thought.

_Surely it wasn't because she avoided having one…?_ Mystia thought, then realized that might just be the case, as Mokou was immortal and wouldn't want to watch someone she loved to die before her.

Expelling that thought from her mind, Mystia clapped her hands together and grabbed Sachi's attention.

"Maybe… this is a bit too much for her though…" Mystia stated.

"Hmm, I guess we did force her to wear it." Sachi nodded in agreement.

Mokou, upon realizing she might be freed from this torture, sighed relief. Then, her eyes widened in horror at Mystia's next words.

"What we really need to do it start at normal women clothing. Dresses can come after that~"

Mokou's hell still had yet to conclude…

* * *

><p>In the middle of their trip to get Mokou new clothes, however, Abel came just as they were changing from regular clothing to kimonos. He almost didn't even comment on the bizarre sight of Mokou acting so timid from simply wearing more girlish clothes, he just simply told them that, 'it was time for work'.<p>

With those words, the playful atmosphere turned very, very dark. 'Work', could only mean something related to the killings. Mokou didn't hesitate to strip off the kimono she was wearing, despite Abel being there, and throwing on her clothes, but none of them really made a fuss about that; there was something more important to focus on right now.

Walking further and further in a direction Mokou was familiar with, she started to get a sneaking suspicion as they neared someone's home.

"Naoto did something again?" Mokou asked with an upset tone.

Abel, however, remained very quiet, not even showing any disdain at the mention of his name. Mystia couldn't understand just what shook him up so much, but his eyes seemed to be completely cold. Almost on reflex, she grabbed his hand and he turned to her in surprise before frowning.

"Sorry… No, Naoto did nothing wrong… but it does have to do with him." Abel's words remained vague, his voice hesitating as if he were unsure.

Mystia could tell; Abel wasn't faking his emotions right now. Whatever happened to make him act so conflicted, she knew it wouldn't be as simple as what happened last night.

Abel refused to say anything more as they walked up to Naoto's house, eerily quiet despite the fact that the rest of their group was there; Taro, Yuzu, Jin, Reid and Kenchi… all were in the living room with different expression of shock and paranoia on their faces. Not even the ones who hated Mystia for what she had done even bothered looking at her as she walked in, clearly shaken up.

"What…" Mystia started to speak, but she noticed that Abel was continuing to the right, a trapdoor in the floor was open, visibly broken from the outside. She didn't question why such a thing was in the house, she just followed Abel along with Sachi and Mokou.

Abel paused right as they were in full view of the hidden basement, then told them, "If you're uncomfortable, just leave."

Then, he fully entered the basement and they finally got to see why everyone was so shaken up.

* * *

><p><em>Coughing up blood, pulse quickening, eyes wide and twitching and his left hand holding his slashed neck, Naoto ran into the basement, locking the latch behind him.<em>

_His fingers still hurt like a bitch and the throbbing headache in his head wouldn't leave him since arriving back home. Now? The flaring pain in his neck didn't help, especially as the hot liquid dripped from between his fingers._

_The pounding above him indicated that his attacker was trying to break in, so he didn't have much time._

_...He was all but dead. He knew that. He wasn't even sure why he hadn't died yet._

_He knew neck wounds like his were supposed to be fatal, yet he hadn't died yet. Maybe it wasn't as serious as other neck wounds? But with his vision fading and the feeling of imminent death looming over him, he knew he was dead regardless of what type of wound it was._

_He knew what he needed to do._

_He used the blood that left his body and wrote the message in as many areas as possible, in as many ways as possible._

_. . . . ._

_. . ._

_There, he thought. He somehow was still alive, enough to appreciate his work of all the writing on the wall._

_He was truly glad he could live long enough to write it down, but he knew that the killer wouldn't simply leave it at that._

_He would cover it somehow._

_This fear was all Naoto had left; if he failed to deliver this message, then how would he get back at the bastard?_

_He didn't know who it _was_ per say, but his message was still enough to help out the others._

_...Even Mystia._

_He bit his lip, thinking about that abomination of life, how it pretended to have feelings after what she had done._

_With the way she acted around others… it really was like she wasn't all that different from him._

_That's what pissed him off the most._

_Simply 'trying' to play nice because others told you to… like his hypocritical mother._

_To him, it was a big joke. You can't change who people are. His mother did, and when he wouldn't she would whack him._

_Again and again._

Everyone's a fucking hypocrite._ Naoto thought spitefully._

_Be nice, because I won't be nice to you. That's how Naoto viewed what his mother's raising method. That's also why he refused to listen to anyone, refused to yield to anyone, refused to change who he was._

_But he wondered, if he had a different parent, would he find that this way of thinking was actually right after all? Was it right to change who you were?_

Like it matters now…_ Naoto coughed up even more blood as he thought that and grabbed a book next to him; a failsafe in case his writing was messed up in some way, and wrote down the message in the pages before closing it and placing it in the bookshelf._

_There was no guarantee that anyone would find it… but it was better than nothing._

_Of course, Naoto wasn't ready to simply 'stop'... but before he knew it, he was floating away on a ship, opening his eyes despite never remembering when he closed them in the first place._

* * *

><p>They stepped into a room died with dark red splatters and chunks everywhere. It covered everywhere from the ceiling to the corners and it was as if whatever caused it had the sole purpose of covering every surface in the room entirely. Mystia could tell what was in the room even before entering it, as her nose was hit with a smell of what made a human body. It reminded her of the times she ate them before, but she shook those thoughts out of her head as quickly as possible.<p>

Mystia, Mokou and Sachi understood why everyone was now unsettled, but even though it should've been obvious who the blood and guts came from, Mokou felt compelled to ask the question.

"Is… it Naoto?"

Abel nodded slowly. As he found out early last month, he could use his powers to search for someone, but only if 'they', meaning their soul, was still in the world of the living. Thus, if he searched for Naoto and came up with nothing…

Mystia and Mokou were no strangers to graphic images such as this, given their lives so far, but Sachi also seemed to be unaffected by the gruesome imagery, going so far as to even enter the bloodied room with her sandals.

"...Why is the room like this?" Sachi asked the question on her mind, ignoring the surprised looks on everyone else's face.

Mystia was the first one to recover, having remembered how Sachi described the body of the child yesterday to her without flinching. "It's covering the walls…"

As if continuing that thought, Sachi asked Abel to grab something to wipe off what was left of Naoto from the walls. Abel walked back upstairs for a short period of time, with some raised voices echoing throughout the house after he left. When he came back, it was with four towels and a scowl on his face.

"What did they say?" Mystia asked.

"I asked them where he kept the towels and they answered… after complaining that we shouldn't touch his things." Abel answered.

Each of them took a towel and wiped off as much of the blood and guts as possible, but all they saw was a surface with no noticeable differences. Sachi then turned to the bookshelf filled with books, mostly untouched except for a few blood splatters along books here and there.

"They wanted to cover the walls specifically with blood. If they were simply killing them with a simple method, then that doesn't explain why there's so little blood here…" Sachi trailed off, picking up one of the books and reading them before a grimace appeared on her face.

"What is it?" Mystia asked.

"This book… is about torture methods."

The reason why this trapdoor existed in the first place was explained at those words, yet it brought about another question of, 'Why would Naoto have such books?'. Mystia moved over the the bookshelf along with Abel and Mokou, their towels stained with blood thrown into the far corner as they each took a book out and read.

"This one is about different poisons and cures… not nearly as bad as the torture book, since it can be used for medicine, in a way." Mokou stated.

"This one…" Abel scrunched up his face as he slammed the book shut and put it back into the shelf.

Before he slammed it, however, Mystia got another wiff of blood, as if it had been encased by that book he held. Without thinking, Mystia dropped the book she had and pulled out the book while Abel looked at her with surprised worry.

"Ah, you shouldn't read that-"

It detailed various ways on killing different Youkai, mostly in an unpleasant manner. Mystia could understand Abel's concern for her, but she wasn't looking to read it. She knew for sure after opening it up again; this was where the smell came from. She kept turning the pages until she came across a bloody scrawl on two pages near the back.

"...Everyone, look at this." Mystia spoke in a quiet, yet inaudible voice, her finger trembling from the words she was reading. Abel, who was already near her, opened his eyes wide at the exact moment she found it. Sachi and Mokou, who saw it afterwards, couldn't process the truth the words told them, despite it coming from the most reliable source, the victim.

This was because they thought it was as simple as hunting down a Youkai.

They knew now that they were wrong, as they stared down at the words.

_**THE MONSTER IS HUMAN**_


End file.
